Head Position for Endotracheal Intubation

The Degree of Neck Flexion Does Not Influence on the Laryngeal View and Discomfort During Endotracheal Intubation in Adult Patients

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether degree of neck flexion affect on laryngeal view and discomfort during endotracheal intubation in adult patients.

The neck flexion using a 8 to 10 cm head elevation has been suggested to align laryngeal, pharyngeal and oral axes and facilitate endotracheal intubation by direct laryngoscopy. There have been scarce clinical studies about the appropriate degree of neck flexion for endotracheal intubation. In the present study, the laryngeal view and physician's discomfort during endotracheal intubation were evaluated according to the two degrees of neck flexion(4 cm vs 8 cm) using a 4 or 8 cm height of pillows, respectively, in adult patients.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Elective operation time ≤2hrs
• American Society of Anesthesiologist, Physical Status 1 or 2
• age ; 18 - 90 years

Exclusion Criteria:

• patient has upper respiratory infection symptoms
• limited mouth opening
• teeth problems
• expecting difficult airway
• congenital heart disease
• patient has a possibility of aspiration pneumonia