The Difficult Airway App vs STABLEize
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
The Difficult Airway App
This medical app assists clinicians in managing emergency airways by providing rapid drug selection and dosing for RSI. It offers decision-making support with algorithms and mnemonics for difficult airways, along with educational resources.
- Adult and pediatric drug dosing for RSI
- Obesity and hemodynamic adjustments
- Broselow-Luten color system integration
- Difficult airway algorithms and predictors
- Step-by-step RSI guidance
- Customizable drug formulary
- Airway anatomy illustrations
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The Difficult Airway App (v.3.3) The Difficult Airway App™ is an essential tool for clinicians who manage emergency airways in any setting: the ED, ICU, in-patient unit or the many EMS practice environments. THE RIGHT DRUGS, THE RIGHT DOSES, THE RIGHT WAY! This app rapidly and easily selects the right drugs for RSI, automatically adjusting for obesity and hemodynamics. Pediatric dosing and equipment selection is a snap using the Broselow-Luten color system or the child's estimated weight. Stay out of trouble! The Difficult Airway App™ guides the user quickly and easily through important algorithms, predictors of the difficult airway, and the step-by-step approach to RSI taught in The Difficult Airway Course: Emergency™. The Difficult Airway App™ features: EASY, YET SOPHISTICATED ADULT AND PEDIATRIC DRUG DOSING • For adult dosing, a few simple clicks bring you to recommended doses that incorporate patient weight, body habitus and hemodynamics. • The pediatric drug dosing function incorporates the color-coded system created by James Broselow, MD and Robert C. Luten, MD for rapid, safe management of pediatric airway cases. • The option to customize your formulary means that only the drugs you use will appear in the recommendations. DECISION-MAKING SUPPORT • Straight-forward algorithms allow you to quickly determine the best approach to your patient’s airway. • Easy mnemonics walk you through predictors of a difficult airway, including difficult laryngoscopy (LEMON), difficult BMV (ROMAN), difficult extraglottic device use (RODS) and difficult cricothyrotomy (SMART). • Pearls of wisdom, based on evidence and expert opinion, are offered throughout. RAPID SEQUENCE INTUBATION • The 7 – Ps of RSI: a step-by-step guide for adult and pediatric patients. • Adult and pediatric RSI drug dosing. EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES • Richly detailed illustrations of the airway anatomy. • Links to information about The Difficult Airway Courses™. Created by Ron M. Walls, MD, Michael F. Murphy, MD and Robert C. Luten, MD. With significant updates by Calvin A. Brown III, MD.
STABLEize
This medical reference app provides comprehensive guidelines and tools for managing sick infants. It covers essential modules like Sugar, Temperature, Airway, Blood Pressure, Lab Work, and Emotional Support, along with detailed information and animations on congenital heart disease.
- Neonatal assessment and care modules
- 22 congenital heart disease animations
- 4 medical calculators
- Umbilical catheter insertion depth guide
- Ductal dependent CHD flow visualization
- Palliative procedure illustrations
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In addition to The S.T.A.B.L.E. Program Module Guidelines: Sugar, Temperature, Airway, Blood pressure, Lab work, Emotional support for the family, this app includes a BONUS menu of 22 severe cardiac anomalies to increase understanding of how blood flows through the heart in the setting of ductal dependent and not ductal dependent congenital heart disease (CHD). - 4 calculators: corrected gestational age, temperature converter (Fahrenheit to Celsius and vice-versa), umbilical artery and venous catheter insertion depth, weight converter (grams to pounds/ounces and vice-versa). - Under Cardiac Anomalies you’ll find animations and information on 22 severe forms of congenital heart disease. The MP4 videos demonstrate how blood flows through the heart with the various forms of CHD, and for ductal-dependent lesions, the severe impact of ductal closure on blood flow. Other animations feature normal heart anatomy, hypercyanotic (tet) spell, and balloon atrial septostomy (Rashkind procedure). Also included are illustrations of palliative procedures (PDA stent, balloon valvuloplasty, BT shunt, RVOT stent, central shunt, pulmonary artery band). STABLE stands for the 6 assessment and care modules in the program: Sugar, Temperature, Airway, BP, Lab work, Emotional support. This app includes the following items: - Sugar module: General Guidelines for sick infants and infants at increased risk for hypoglycemia, IV treatment of a blood sugar less than 50 mg/dL (2.8 mmol/L), useful information about umbilical catheters and actions to correct umbilical artery catheter malpositions. - Temperature module: General Guidelines (hypothermic classifications, monitoring, rewarming after accidental hypothermia), and neuroprotective hypothermia checklist and neurologic exam. - Airway module: monitoring guidelines, respiratory distress descriptions, endotracheal tube sizes and insertion depth, blood gas evaluation, signs of a pneumothorax, and treatment of a pneumothorax. - Blood pressure module: assessment for shock and treatment of shock, including how to mix dopamine hydrochloride to constitute an 800 microgram/mL IV fluid solution. - Lab work module: risk factors for neonatal infection, clinical signs of infection, and laboratory evaluation prior to transport to an intensive care unit. How to calculate the absolute neutrophil count and immature to total ratio. - Emotional support for the family module: the various emotions that parents may be experiencing and how to help families who are experiencing the crisis of a sick newborn. The Cardiac Anomalies menu includes short descriptions and MP4 videos and illustrations for: - Normal Heart and Lungs - Aortic Valve Stenosis - Atrial septal defect - Atrioventricular canal - Coarctation of aorta - Double outlet right ventricle - Ebstein anomaly - Hypoplastic left heart syndrome - Interrupted aortic arch – type B - Patent ductus arteriosus - Pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum (IVS) - Pulmonary atresia with IVS and sinusoids - Pulmonary atresia with ventricular septal defect - Total anomalous pulmonary venous connection (TAPVC) – Cardiac, Supracardiac, Infracardiac) - Tetralogy of Fallot (moderate stenosis) - Tetralogy of Fallot (ductal dependent) - Transposition of the Great Arteries - Tricuspid atresia - Truncus arteriosus - Ventricular septal defect Includes illustrations of palliative procedures: balloon atrial septostomy (Rashkind procedure), PDA stent, balloon valvuloplasty, Blalock-Taussig (BT) shunt, right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) stent, central shunt, pulmonary artery band.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: STABLEize at 100% against The Difficult Airway App's 31%. STABLEize also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.1) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 10 months). The Difficult Airway App's advantage is price ($4.99 vs $24.99). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
The Difficult Airway App costs $4.99 and STABLEize $24.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
STABLEize holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 22 and 16 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 31% of The Difficult Airway App's written reviews are positive against 100% of STABLEize's.
The Difficult Airway App ships an update every 10 months, STABLEize every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | The Difficult Airway App | STABLEize |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 — better | $24.99 |
| Rating | 4.1 (22 ratings) | 4.9 (16 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 31.3% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 22 — better | 16 |
| Update frequency | Every 10 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #109 | #106 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 62 MB | 57 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Airway Management Education Center | The STABLE Program |
Customer experience
The Difficult Airway App
STABLEize
In-app purchases
The Difficult Airway App
No in-app purchases
STABLEize
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is The Difficult Airway App free?
Is STABLEize free?
Which has better reviews, The Difficult Airway App or STABLEize?
Do The Difficult Airway App or STABLEize have ads?
Which is updated more often, The Difficult Airway App or STABLEize?
Which is more popular, The Difficult Airway App or STABLEize?
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