Pediatric airway management: A narrative review of the current practices and challenges

Abstract

Pediatric patients are more susceptible to critical events, the management of their airway necessitates skilled and meticulous interventions. Thus, it is essential to be well versed with the knowledge that can aid in our understanding of the pediatric airway. We conducted a narrative review of the current understanding of pediatric airway assessment techniques, various airway adjuncts and devices, the use of video laryngoscopes for endotracheal intubation and future trends. The databases Ovid, Medline, PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were searched regarding various aspects of pediatric airway management from 2005 to 2024. The search terms were pediatric or infant difficult airway, pediatric difficult airway, apneic oxygenation, and pediatric airway assessment. One hundred articles were deemed relevant by abstract, and their full text was obtained and examined further for compliance, and finally, 40 full-text articles were included in the study. This article discusses the various challenges of pediatric anesthesia related to airway management, emphasizing the need for individualized perioperative methods due to children’s unique anatomical and physiological features.