The role of nasendoscopy in standard anaesthetic airway assessment
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The potential role of nasendoscopy in standard anaesthetic airway assessment
IRAS ID
142387
Contact name
Thalia Monro-Somerville
Contact email
Research summary
Fibreoptic nasendoscopy is a process by which a small fibre optic camera on a thin flexible hose is inserted through the nostril to examine the back of the mouth and the airways. It has long been used both in inpatient and outpatient evaluation of the upper airway. ENT surgeons use nasal fibre optic nasendoscopy regularly to evaluate vocal cord function and nasopharyngeal anatomy as part of their pre operative assessment of patients attending for thyroid or parathyroid surgery. The use of fibre optic nasendoscopy provides valuable information about the anatomy of the airway, the function of the vocal cords and position of the trachea in relation to the larynx. The skill is one routinely used by anaesthetists, and the patient impact is negligible. The procedure is safe , minimally invasive and often does not require local anaesthetic for the nasal passages. With an increasingly challenging popualtion of patients presenting with obesity, acid reflux, head and neck pathology, previous radiotherapy, all of which make airway management more challenging, I am questioning whether anaesthetitists should be using this modality as a more routine part of our anaesthetic airway assessment in selected patients, particularly with suspected difficult airways.
REC name
West of Scotland REC 5
REC reference
14/WS/1036
Date of REC Opinion
28 Nov 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion