Difficult Airway Management in Pediatric Patient with Neck Contracture

Abstract

Background: A specific airway evaluation and physical examination should be performed in all pediatric patients undergoing anesthesia. Pediatric difficult airway problems can occur due to congenital, inflammation, trauma, or malignant disorders. Laryngeal mask airway (LMA) is an alternative breathing device for difficult airway cases.

Case: We reported a 5-year-old girl, 12 kg of weight, with a diagnosis of Colli region contracture planned for contracture release. Physical examination revealed glasgow coma scale score 15, with a pulse of 98 beats per minute, a breath rate of 22 times per minute and SpO₂ of 98% on the room air. In the airway evaluation, it was found that the lower mouth was pulled down by the contracture tissue, 2-fingers-wide of mouth opening, the mallampati score was difficult to evaluate, there was no obstruction and neck motion was limited due to contractures. In this report, intubation via video laryngoscope was failed due to the severely restricted neck motion caused by the contracture. The use of LMA became an alternative difficult airway management in this patient after failed intubation with a video laryngoscope.

Conclusion: Preoperative evaluation for assessing and evaluating difficult airway in pediatric patients greatly determines the success of airway management. The use of airway devices such as LMA is still very helpful in cases of pediatric difficult airway.