Role of Ultrasound in Airway Management

With the different functions of ultrasound in the assessment of the airway, it has become the potential first-choice noninvasive tool in anesthesiology. It is a very important device pre-intubation in the selection of the correct endotracheal tube size and in the assessment of a possible difficult airway. Ultrasound is also of use perioperatively in the correct determination of endotracheal tube depth, placement, identification of laryngeal mask airway (LMA) malpositioning and in the prediction of postextubation stridor. Airway ultrasound can also facilitate the performance of cricothyroidotomy and tracheostomy. The application of ultrasound in anesthesia has considerably widened. An increased knowledge of the sonoanatomy can help anesthesiologists manage more appropriately the pathologies or problems related to the upper airway.