title: Airway problems in pregnancy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To provide a current review of the literature regarding airway problems in pregnancy and management.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Obstetrical anesthesia is considered to be a high-risk practice that exposes the anesthesiologist to increased medicolegal liability. Anesthetic management of a parturient is a challenge because it involves simultaneous care of both mother and baby. Failure to appropriately manage a difficult or failed intubation increases the risk of hypoxemic cardiopulmonary arrest and/or pulmonary aspiration, resulting in a high probability of maternal morbidity and mortality.
  
  
  METHODS
  Anesthesia is the seventh leading cause of maternal mortality in the United States. Anatomic and physiologic changes during pregnancy place the parturient at increased risk for airway management problems. It is essential to perform a thorough preanesthetic evaluation and identify the factors predictive of difficult intubation. Airway devices such as the laryngeal mask airway, ProSeal, intubating laryngeal mask airway, Combitube, and laryngeal tube are described and have been used during failed intubation in pregnant patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Teamwork between an anesthesiologist and an obstetrician is absolutely essential for the safety of both the mother and baby. Most of us tend to agree that airway emergencies have a way of occurring at the worst possible times. It is essential that all anesthesia care practitioners must have a preconceived and well thought-out algorithm and emergency airway equipment to deal with airway emergencies during difficult or failed intubation of a parturient.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA. umunnur@bcm.tmc
authors.forename: Uma
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Munnur
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: de Boisblanc
authors.forename: Maya S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Suresh
mesh_terms: D000770:Anesthesia, Endotracheal / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000379:methods / Q000401:mortality; D000773:Anesthesia, Obstetrical / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000379:methods / Q000401:mortality; D003422:Critical Care; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods / Q000401:mortality; D008428:Maternal Mortality; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology; D007744:Obstetric Labor Complications / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000503:physiopathology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology*