Role of Ultrasonography in Difficult Airway Management

Anju Gupta, Nishkarsh Gupta an

Abstract

Ultrasound is a recent addition to anaesthesiologist armamentarium and is gaining importance in every skill related to the field. Clinical airway assessment is still far from being full proof at present. Use of point of care ultrasound for the real time dynamic imaging of airway structures such as epiglottis, cricoid cartilage, cricothyroid membrane etc. has several advantages. The sono-anatomy of the airway structures may help the anaesthesiologist to assess the size of airway, predict difficulty in intubation, mark the site for needle cricothyroidotomy, and detect any airway related pathologies. In times to come, Ultrasound may become an indispensable tool for management of airway in patients. In this review we discuss the importance of ultrasound as a tool for airway management.