**1. Introduction**

*The most compelling educational effort for the anaesthesia community should be to reduce the frequency and severity of complications related to managing the airway—Benumof 1995.*

Airway management outside the operating theater is associated with increased risks when compared with the management of the airway done in the operating theater setting [1]. Except for the resuscitation scenario, airway management is always associated with the administration of sedative medication to facilitate a procedure being performed. This could be diagnostic or therapeutic in nature. It is understood that the responsibility of managing the airway lies on the physician who prescribes the sedative drug, unless there is the presence of an assigned anesthesiologist to that area. The anesthesiologist is considered the expert for airway management in the clinical environment, who has mastered knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of the airway, usually with years of experience in dealing with the normal airway. They are also trained to handle the potentially abnormal airway and are most familiar with the newer equipment available for the management of the airway. The operating room has always been associated with terms such as being the anesthesiologist's home or backyard. It is their most familiar area of work, where they feel most confident. The reason for this is that this area is most prepared to handle problems with the airway, not only in terms of equipment and available expert help, but also in terms of ergonomics. Airway management outside this area is known to

put patients at an increased risk of airway complications. This chapter addresses the important facets of this invaluable skill when used outside the operating room, taking into consideration both anesthesiologists and non-anesthesiologists as operators. Since the intensive care unit is a highly specialized area, similar to the OR, a separate chapter has been written for airway management in the ICU. Therefore, this chapter will concentrate on other areas outside the OR. It will not address resuscitation scenarios where immediate airway management is unplanned and is a life-saving procedure, and may be needed in any area of the hospital and beyond.
