title: How do you size a nasopharyngeal airway.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To measure an appropriately sized nasopharyngeal airway, it is taught that the size is related to the patients little finger or nostril (anterior nares). This study has been designed to identify whether these comparisons are valid.
  
  
  METHODS
  Direct comparison of the dimensions of ten subjects' little fingers and anterior nares with the internal anatomy of their nose as visualised on coronal MRI scans.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Neither method correlated statistically with the nasal anatomy of that subject.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The methods used traditionally to size a nasopharyngeal airway do not correlate with the airway anatomy and are unreliable. It is more appropriate to size the airway dependent upon the patient's size, sex and race.
authors.affiliation: Surgical Rotation, Heartlands Hospital, Birmingham, UK. dr_keith@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Keith
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.forename: Keith
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Porter
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009305:Nasopharynx / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D009666:Nose / Q000033:anatomy & histology