The pediatric airway

Good airway management technique is an essential skill for physicians in most specialties. This article begins with a review of basic airway anatomy and the physiology of the uninstrumented airway. This subject is of particular importance given the increasing use of procedural sedation and the increased recognition of sleep-disordered breathing in infants and children. A discussion of the various artificial airways and their advantages and disadvantages follows. The difficult airway is an important contributor to both patient morbidity and mortality. It is important to have a planned management approach available for the anticipated and, more importantly, the unanticipated difficult airway. The recommendations of the American Society of Anesthesiologists Taskforce on the Management of the Difficult Airway have good application for this important problem. The fetus with the prenatal diagnosis of a lesion that predicts a difficult airway presents a particular challenge. The utilization of an ex-utero intrapartum treatment method is presented as an important approach for the delivery and airway management of these infants. This section closes with a discussion of the prehospital airway management of the pediatric patient.