Anesthesiology Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Anesthesiology, including details on clinical anesthesiology, evidence based practice, techniques.

Time to stop sniffing the air: snapshot survey.

Johnson C, Goodman NW

Southmead Hospital, Bristol BS10 5NB.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the phrase "sniffing the morning air" is useful in positioning patients for tracheal intubation. DESIGN: Snapshot survey. SETTING: Teaching hospital. PARTICIPANTS: 21 anaesthetists. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Angles of neck, line of sight, and hip to shoulder, as measured on a photograph. RESULTS: Angles ranged widely, especially line of sight: 7 degrees -37 degrees with horizontal. CONCLUSIONS: As patients are positioned supine, rather than standing, the phrase is unhelpful; an explicit description of head position would be better.

Published 22 December 2006 in BMJ, 333(7582): 1295-6.
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