Ultrasound and orotracheal intubation

Difficult tracheal intubation remains a major source of morbidity and mortality in clinical practice. Predicting and managing difficult intubation therefore remains a central challenge and a major concern for the anesthesiologist. Preventing this risk relies on the preoperative assessment of difficult tracheal intubation and the implementation of measures to cope with such a situation. The ultrasound tool, being particularly attractive for its simplicity, availability and safety, offers a morphological study of anatomical structures that may interfere with VAS management, and has in recent years begun to gain prominence in airway management in the operating theatre. The fundamental aim of our study was to evaluate new ultrasound criteria predictive of difficult intubation, in order to establish a new clinico-ultrasound screening score for difficult intubation.