Airway Assessment Flashcards
carina
where trachea bifurcates.
Left and right sides come off at different angles.
right bronchi is 2.5 cm long with 25 degree angle
left bronchi is 5cm long with a 45 degree angle
Pre-op airway assessment
- general appearance
- Malampati classification
- range of motion of neck
- thyromental distance
- dentition
- mouth (lips, gums, tissues)
- mouth oppening (2-3 fingers)
- teeth (missing, protrusions, overbite, bridges out)
- size and mobility of tongue
- body habitus
- Hx of difficult intubation
*aspiration risk (hiatal hernia, GERD, recently ate, OSA)
Mallampati score
Pt sitting upright, head neutral mouth open as wide as possible and tongue maximally protruded. No AAAH!
- Correlates the oropharyngeal space with the ease of direct laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation.
- When the base of the tongue is disproportionately large, the tonge overshadows the larynx resulting in difficult exposure of the vocal cords during laryngoscopy.
No AAAH!
Cormack and Lehane Score
Laryngoscopic view of the glottis
Grade I: most of the glottis visible
Grade II: Only the posterior portion of glottis visible
Grade III: Only epiglottis visible
Grade IV: No airway structures visualized
Thyromental Distance
- Distance from lower border of mandible to thyroid notch with neck fully extended
- Normal 4 fingerbreadths (6-6.5 cm)
- Difficult intubation <3 fingers
Optimal intubating position
“sniffing”
Oral, pharyngeal, and laryngeal axis
Most optimal for visualization of vocal cords and most effective mask ventilation
Mallampati classes
- faucial pillars, entire uvula, soft and hard palates.
- Uvula tip masked by tongue, soft and hard palates
- Soft and hard palates, uvula base only
- Hard palate only
PUSH
pillars, uvula, soft palate, hard palate
Nasal passage includes:
- septum
- turbinates
- adenoids
- paranasal sinuses
just remember where all that shit is
Oral airways
measure from the corner of the mouth to the earlobe
- use tongue depressor to insert
- Complications:
- laryngospasm
- bleeding
- soft tissue damage
- 2 types: Berman (BOA) and Guedel (hollow)
- small- BOA 80mm / Guedel 3
- medium- BOA 90mm / Guedel 4
- large - BOA 100mm / Guedel 5
Trachea
Fibromuscular
10-20 cm length, 22 mm diameter
no cartilage on posterior side
bifurcates at T-4 (carina)
Trachea
- extends from inferior end of larynx into the thorax
- teminates at the sternal angle (T4) where it bifurcates (carina) into left and right main bronchi
- 2.5cm in diameter
- 10-20 cm length
- 16-20 U shaped cartilages
- posterior side lacks cartilage
- posterior gap is spanned by the involuntary trachealis muscle
- innervated by the Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve of the Vagus Nerve
Mainstem bronchi
- Right mainstem bronchi is 2.5 cm long with 25 degree angle
- Left mainstem bronchi is 5 cm long and 45 degree angle
Lobar bronchi Left Vs right
Left has 2
Right has 3
General anesthesia Mask case
- Can be used when:
- no difficult airway
- surgeon does not need access to head/neck
- no airway bleeding/secretions
- short case
- no position changes and easy access to head
- obstruction easily relieved with oral or nasal airway
- no neuromuscular blocker used–spontaneous breathing