Radiological Evaluation of Airway - What an Anaesthesiologist Needs to Know!

Overview

Journal Indian J Anaesth

Specialty Anesthesiology

Date 2019 Apr 20

PMID 31000888

Citations 16

Authors

Kinshuki Jain

Nishkarsh Gupta

Mukesh Yadav

Sanjay Thulkar

Sushma Bhatnagar

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Airway management forms the foundation of any anaesthetic management. However, unanticipated difficult airway (DA) and its sequelae continue to dread any anaesthesiologist. In spite of development of various clinical parameters to judge DA, no single parameter has proved to be accurate in predicting it. Radiological evaluation may help assess the aspects of patient's airway not visualised through the naked eye. Starting from traditional roentgenogram to ultramodern three-dimensional printing, imaging may assist the anaesthesiologists in predicting DA and formulate plan for its management. Right from predicting DA, it has been used for estimating endotracheal tube sizes, assessing airway pathologies in paediatric patients and planning extubation strategies. This article attempts to provide exhaustive overview on radiological parameters which can be utilised by anaesthesiologists for prediction of DA.

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