Decision-making in awake fibre optic intubation for patients with severe dentofacial infection: which patients will require fibre optic intubation?

Background Risk factors for advanced airway intervention among patients with dentofacial infection (DFI) are poorly understood. The appropriate delivery of clinical care to this patient group raises challenging anaesthetic service provision issues. The purpose of this study was to identify factors which may predict a requirement for an awake fibre optic intubation (AFOI) technique for airway management in this patient population.