The Utility of Ultrasound in Airway Management

As technology and portability have improved, ultrasound use has continued to find more valuable and diverse applications in modern medicine. Two of the more novel applications of ultrasound include both assessment and management of the airway. Currently, clinicians generally depend on a combination of conventional physical exam findings such as thyromental distance, Mallampati score, and degree of oral opening to help predict potential difficult airway management. However, these conventional assessments can still leave the practitioner vulnerable to the dreaded “cannot intubate” and “cannot ventilate” scenario. Several small studies have shown that ultrasound use can help to increase the sensitivity and specificity in predicting a potential difficult airway and to help facilitate emergent or difficult airway management. This chapter will detail the current scope of ultrasound use for airway assessment and management.