Airway management Flashcards
(58 cards)
What is a Mallampati exam?
assesses the oropharyngeal space to determine how much room there is to work
helps us quantify the size of the tongue relative to the volume in the mouth
A higher Mallampati score (3 or 4) is associated with
a more difficult intubation
By itself, ______ is a poor predictor of a difficult airway
Mallampati
What is the inter-incisor gap exam?
assesses how well the patient can open his mouth which directly affects your ability to align the oral, pharyngeal, and laryngeal axes
A small inter-incisor gap creates a
more acute angle between the oral and glottic openings, increasing the difficulty of intubation
What is normal inter-incisor gap?
2-3 finger breadths (4 cm)
_________ reduce the inter-incisor gap
long incisors
___________ teeth increase the risk of dental damage
Buck
What is the mnemonic for Mallampati classification?
PUSH
What is a class 1 Mallampati entail?
Pillars, Uvula, Soft palate, Hard palate
What is a class 2 Mallampati?
Uvula, soft palate, hard palate
What is a class 3 mallampati?
soft palate, hard palate (base of uvula may be seen)
What is a class 4 mallampati?
hard palate
To perform the Mallampati exam, ask the patient to:
sit upright
extend the neck
open the mouth wide
stick out the tongue
NOT phonate
Restriction of mouth opening can be caused by
arthritis, scar tissue, temporomandibular joint disease and prior surgery
The ability to place the patient into the sniffing position is highly dependent on the mobility of the
atlanto-occipital joint
Some conditions that impair the atlantooccipital mobility include
arthritic disease, trauma, and Down syndrome
ankylosing spondylitis, trauma, surgical fixation, Klippel-Feil, diabetes
The mandibular protrusion test assesses the
function of the temporomandibular joint
_______________ mandibular protrusion test correlates with an increased difficulty of intubation.
A class 3
How is the mandibular protrusion test performed?
The patient is asked to sublux the jaw and the position of the lower incisors is compared to the position of the upper incisors
To expose the glottic opening during laryngoscopy, you must displace the tongue into the
submandibular space
If the submandibular space is too small or poorly compliant, then you may not
be able to move the tongue enough to expose the glottis
The thyromental distance helps us estimate
the size of the submandibular space
A TMD less than ______ or greater than _______ correlates with an increased risk of difficult intubation
6 cm or greater than 9 cm
