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An MRI Study of the Sniffing, Neutral and Extended Head and Neck Positions

NCT05002790 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 20

Last updated 2024-08-28

Study results available
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Summary

The traditional method of tracheal intubation requires the insertion of a laryngoscope into the oral cavity and directly visualisation of the glottis. The traditional head position called the sniffing the morning air position; consisting of lower cervical flexion and extension of the atlanto-occipital joint is commonly used to facilitate tracheal intubation in this manner by aligning the oral axes and providing the operator a view of the glottis.

With the advancement of technology, has seen videolaryngoscopes (VL) developed to ease tracheal intubation. With VL, the glottis is seen through a camera connected to a viewing screen either attached to the top of the laryngoscope or connected to a camera screen by cable. One of the main drawbacks with VL is that a good view of the glottis is seen on the screen, but it can be difficult to pass the tracheal tube through the glottis in comparison to the traditional intubation technique described above. One of the main factors the authors suggest is that VL-assisted intubation requires a head and neck position that is different to the sniffing the morning air position.

This study aims to assess the oral axes in three different head and neck positions under MRI to assess which positions improve axial alignment the most.

Conditions

  • Intubation, Intratracheal

Interventions

DIAGNOSTIC_TEST

Data collection group

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allows measurement of the axes described to suggest which head and neck position would provide best anatomical alignment to reduce anterior impingement. All the MRI scans will be conducted using 3.0 Tesla (Optima 750w, GE Medical, Milwaukee, WI, USA) using the cervical spine section of the coil. T2-weighted images in the sagittal plane will be acquired using a fast recovery fast spin echo (FRFSE) technique. The scans will take around two and half minutes and a member of the anaesthetic investigator team will be present to facilitate positional changes and maintain consistency. MRI scanning will be performed in following 3 head and neck positions: Neutral position, Sniffing position and the Extension position.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust

    lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation
NA
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE
Model
SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2021-08-05
Primary Completion
2021-10-21
Completion
2021-10-21

Countries

  • United Kingdom

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT05002790 on ClinicalTrials.gov