Comparison

The Difficult Airway App vs STAT EM

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

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.

About

STAT EM

This medical app provides medication calculations for patients from neonates to adults, featuring updated evidence-based algorithms and emergency medication dosing. It includes pediatric oral antibiotic guidelines, neonatal resuscitation management, and an augmented reality feature for weight estimation. Future updates will allow users to save favorite content.

Highlights
  • Medication calculations (neonates to adults)
  • Pediatric oral antibiotic guidelines
  • Updated evidence-based algorithms
  • Neonatal resuscitation management
  • Adult emergency medication calculations
  • AR weight estimation feature
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

We’re excited to offer STAT EM, an enhanced version of Pedi STAT, providing medication calculations for neonates to adults. To keep giving you the most up to date content, we’ve moved to a subscription model to keep our app free of advertising. This new version contains pediatric oral antibiotic guidelines and dosing, updated evidence-based algorithms, and neonatal resuscitation management. It also includes adult emergency medication calculations including both weight-based and fixed dosing volumes. We’ve added an AR feature allowing you to use your device to measure the length of child to assist in weight estimations. Finally, you will soon have the ability to save favorites to assist you in finding the content you use most frequently. Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

The Difficult Airway App4 screens
STAT EM4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: STAT EM at Free against The Difficult Airway App's $4.99. STAT EM also leads on update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 10 months). The Difficult Airway App's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and chart position (#33 vs #163). On rating, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

STAT EM is free to download; The Difficult Airway App costs $4.99 up front. STAT EM sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. The Difficult Airway App asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.1 for The Difficult Airway App against 4.1 for STAT EM. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 22 and 9 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 31% of The Difficult Airway App's written reviews are positive against 33% of STAT EM's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

The Difficult Airway App ships an update every 10 months, STAT EM every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
The Difficult Airway App versus STAT EM: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe Difficult Airway AppSTAT EM
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating4.1 (22 ratings)4.1 (9 ratings) — better
Positive reviews31.3% of reviews33.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings22 — better9
Update frequencyEvery 10 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaid — betterSubscription
Best chart rank#33 — better#163
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size62 MB34 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperAirway Management Education CenterJames M Kempema MD PA

Customer experience

The Difficult Airway App

All ratings22 ratings
Positive77.3%
Neutral9.1%
Negative13.6%
Written reviews16 reviews
Positive31.3%
Neutral31.3%
Negative37.5%

STAT EM

All ratings9 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral22.2%
Negative11.1%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral33.3%
Negative33.3%

In-app purchases

None

The Difficult Airway App

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

STAT EM

Subscriptions2
  • STAT EM Monthly$0.991 Month
  • STAT EM Annual$7.991 Year

Questions

Is The Difficult Airway App free?
The Difficult Airway App costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is STAT EM free?
STAT EM is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, The Difficult Airway App or STAT EM?
STAT EM is rated higher. The Difficult Airway App averages 4.1 out of 5 from 22 ratings, while STAT EM averages 4.1 from 9 ratings.
Do The Difficult Airway App or STAT EM have ads?
Neither The Difficult Airway App nor STAT EM shows ads.
Which is updated more often, The Difficult Airway App or STAT EM?
The Difficult Airway App ships an update every 10 months, and STAT EM every 6 weeks. Most recently, The Difficult Airway App was updated on October 23, 2026 and STAT EM on October 24, 2026.
Which is more popular, The Difficult Airway App or STAT EM?
The Difficult Airway App currently peaks at #33 in the App Store charts, and STAT EM at #163. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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