Critical respiratory events are common in children in the peri-anaesthetic period and are caused by airway and ventilation management difficulties.

We aimed to analyse current European paediatric airway management practices and identify the incidence and potential consequences of difficult airway management.

We performed a secondary analysis of airway and ventilation management details of the European multicentre observational trial (Anaesthesia PRactice in Children Observational Trial, APRICOT) of children from birth to 15 yr of age.

The primary endpoint was the incidence of difficult airway management.

Secondary endpoints were the associations between difficult airway management, known pre-existing respiratory risk factors, and the occurrence of critical respiratory events.

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