Medical

Airway edema / angioedema

Before / During / After / Pitfalls

Before

• Call anesthesia/ENT early if progressive swelling or anatomy risk.
• Consider awake strategy, topicalization, fiberoptic/video plan, and surgical airway readiness.
• Do not wait until the patient cannot phonate/swallow/handle secretions.

During

• Maintain spontaneous ventilation if awake approach is chosen.
• Have cric/trach backup immediately available; edema may make oral route fail.
• Avoid traumatic repeated attempts that worsen swelling.

After

• Secure tube; anticipate prolonged airway swelling.
• Treat underlying cause per protocol and arrange ICU/ENT management.
• Extubation planning is high-risk and not a routine decision.

Pitfalls

• Delayed airway decision until complete obstruction.
• RSI in an airway that should be awake/surgical.
• No surgical airway backup in the room.