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Composite failure: refers to the significantly elevated risk of alternative core airway options being challenging or failing once one option has declared itself to be challenging or has failed. The term is derived from this article.

Core airway options: this is the umbrella term for facemask, supraglottic airway, tracheal tube and neck rescue. Facemask, supraglottic airway and tracheal tube represent the core upper airway options (also referred to as ‘lifelines’ by the Vortex Approach). The literature generally refers to these as different ‘techniques’ or ‘methods’ for establishing an airway but this terminology leaves potential for ambiguity as awake tracheal intubation, use of a hyperangulated videolaryngoscope and direct laryngoscopy might all legitimately be considered different ‘techniques’ for establishing an airway, despite all referring to the same core airway option. Similarly referring to them as different ‘types’ of airway may cause confusion as different brands of supraglottic airway might legitimately be thought of as different airway ‘types’ despite referring to same core airway option.