“…Additionally, when the locations of the trachea and cricothyroid membrane are not obviously due to neck pathology, ultrasonography may help locate the relevant anatomic structures. [19][20][21] This study has several limitations. Because of the skin folds in obese subjects, it was more difficult to delineate the borders accurately and subsequently to apply the invisible ink.…”
“…Additionally, when the locations of the trachea and cricothyroid membrane are not obviously due to neck pathology, ultrasonography may help locate the relevant anatomic structures. [19][20][21] This study has several limitations. Because of the skin folds in obese subjects, it was more difficult to delineate the borders accurately and subsequently to apply the invisible ink.…”
“…Chest radiographs and needle aspiration techniques to locate the trachea may be futile in such circumstances [55]. Preoperative US for localisation of the trachea (Fig.…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Preoperative US for localisation of the trachea (Fig. 12) is especially useful in emergency cases and where awake tracheostomy is chosen because of a predicted difficult mask-ventilation[55] or difficult tracheal intubation.Fig. 12Localisation of the displaced trachea.…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Preoperative ultrasonography for localisation of the trachea is valuable for both surgical [55] and percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy. In children, preoperative US can determine the precise tracheostomy position, thereby preventing subglottic damage of the cricoid cartilage and the first tracheal ring, mitigating haemorrhage due to abnormally placed or abnormally large blood vessels and reducing the risk of pneumothorax [80].…”
ObjectivesTo create a state-of-the-art overview of the new and expanding role of ultrasonography in clinical decision-making, intervention and management of the upper and lower airways, that is clinically relevant, up-to-date and practically useful for clinicians.MethodsThis is a narrative review combined with a structured Medline literature search.ResultsUltrasonography can be utilised to predict airway difficulty during induction of anaesthesia, evaluate if the stomach is empty or possesses gastric content that poses an aspiration risk, localise the essential cricothyroid membrane prior to difficult airway management, perform nerve blocks for awake intubation, confirm tracheal or oesophageal intubation and facilitate localisation of tracheal rings for tracheostomy. Ultrasonography is an excellent diagnostic tool in intraoperative and emergency diagnosis of pneumothorax. It also enables diagnosis and treatment of interstitial syndrome, lung consolidation, atelectasis, pleural effusion and differentiates causes of acute breathlessness during pregnancy. Patient safety can be enhanced by performing procedures under ultrasound guidance, e.g. thoracocentesis, vascular line access and help guide timing of removal of chest tubes by quantification of residual pneumothorax size.ConclusionsUltrasonography used in conjunction with hands-on management of the upper and lower airways has multiple advantages. There is a rapidly growing body of evidence showing its benefits.Teaching Points• Ultrasonography is becoming essential in management of the upper and lower airways.• The tracheal structures can be identified by ultrasonography, even when unidentifiable by palpation.• Ultrasonography is the primary diagnostic approach in suspicion of intraoperative pneumothorax.• Point-of-care ultrasonography of the airways has a steep learning curve.• Lung ultrasonography allows treatment of interstitial syndrome, consolidation, atelectasis and effusion.
“…Ultrasound imaging is safe, noninvasive, can be quickly performed, provides real-time images and does not carry risk of exposure to radiation, and more importantly can be performed on an awake patient at the bedside. A review of the literature shows that 2D ultrasound has been used to locate the cricothyroid membrane [15], predict the size of an endotracheal tube in children [16], locate the trachea before surgical tracheostomy [17], guide percutaneous trachéal puncture [18], study VC function (mobility) [19], diagnose acute epiglottitis [6], evaluate recurrent laryngeal papillomatosis [20] and predict post-extubation stridor [5]. 3D ultrasound is also noninvasive, and as demonstrated in this study, the anatomical information obtained is more detailed than with 2D ultrasound and also compares well with MRI.…”
This is the first report to describe the use of 3D ultrasound to evaluate the anatomy of the upper airway and accurately measure the AP diameter of the subglottic space and the transverse diameter of the upper trachea.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
