How is a failed airway defined in airway management context?

• A. A patient with stable airway and good oxygenation.
• B. An unstable patient unable to maintain adequate oxygenation and ventilation despite airway interventions.
• C. A patient with normal capnography waveform.
• D. A patient with minor coughing after intubation.

Answer: (B)

In airway management, a failed airway means you cannot achieve or maintain adequate oxygenation and ventilation even after attempts to secure or protect the airway. The description of an unstable patient who cannot maintain oxygenation and ventilation despite airway interventions best captures this situation. It signals the need to escalate to alternative airway techniques or emergency measures (such as supraglottic devices, awake techniques, or, if needed, a cricothyrotomy) to restore ventilation and oxygen delivery.

The other scenarios point to successful ventilation or minimal responses: stable airway with good oxygenation means no failure; a normal capnography waveform indicates effective ventilation and airway patency; minor coughing after intubation is a transient airway response, not a failure to ventilate.