A high index of suspicion, meticulous physical examination and close observation of the patient may assist in the early detection of such situations and facilitate proper and timely management in order to avoid future complications. Once airway management has been completed and all hemorrhage sites controlled, definitive management of bone and soft tissue injuries resulting from maxillofacial

trauma may be deferred until life- and/or organ-threatening injuries have been properly find more managed. The Complexity of the situation The maxillofacial trauma patient often presents a problem of difficult mask ventilation and difficult intubation. The trauma SHP099 usually disrupts the normal anatomy and causes oedema and bleeding in the oral cavity. The mask cannot be properly Momelotinib cost close-fitted to the face, to enable effective mask ventilation.

Furthermore, an injured airway may prevent efficient air transferring from the musk to the lungs. The challenge in performing the intubation arises mainly from a difficulty in visualizing the vocal cords with conventional direct laryngoscopy. The oral cavity, pharynx and larynx may be filled with blood, secretions, debris, soft tissue and bone fractures, all of which preclude good visualization of the vocal cords. Apart from the problem of anticipated difficult airway, several other factors may worsen the scenario: C-spine Injury A patient who sustained supra-clavicular trauma is considered to have a C-spine injury until proven otherwise. Complete C-spine clearance may take hours and sometimes days, and until then the patient’s neck must be supported by a collar and all neck movements should Phospholipase D1 be avoided. At the time of intubation the assistant performs “”in-line stabilization”", in order to support the head and neck

in place and prevent neck flexion throughout the procedure [8]. Recent data indicate, on one hand, that direct laryngoscopy and intubation are unlikely to cause clinically significant neck movements and, on the other hand, “”in-line stabilization”" may not always immobilize injured segments effectively. In addition, manual “”in-line stabilization”" degrades the laryngoscopic view which may, in turn, cause hypoxia and worsen the outcome in traumatic brain injury [9, 10]. Another approach suggested by Robitaille et al. is to use the GlideScope videolaryngoscopy for intubation rather than the commonly used Macintosh blade, thus minimizing neck movements [11]. Full stomach The maxillofacial trauma patient, as every trauma patient, is considered to have a “”full stomach”", since there was no time for stomach emptying prior to intubation. In addition, this patient often bleeds from the upper aerodigestive tract: blood is swallowed and accumulates in the stomach, and the risk of regurgitation and aspiration is high.