Chest x-ray review: airway

Changed by Candace Makeda Moore, 6 Jul 2021

Updates to Article Attributes

Body was changed:
This is a basic article for medical students and other non-radiologists

Chest x-ray review is a key competency for medical students, junior doctors and other allied health professionals. Using A, B, C, D, E is a helpful and systematic method for chest x-ray review where A refers to the assessment of the airways.

Reference article

This is a summary article; we do not have a more in-depth reference article.

Summary

  • introduction
    • airway assessment often overlooked
  • procedure
    • start at the top of the film
    • find the trachea in the midline
    • trace it down to the carina
    • trace the right main bronchus
    • return to the carina and trace the left main bronchus
    • the angle between the two should be between 50° and 100°
  • checklist
    • is the trachea straight and midline?
    • is there any evidence of narrowing?
    • is the carina wide (more than 100°)?
  • -<h6>This is a basic article for medical students and other non-radiologists</h6><p><strong>Chest x-ray review</strong> is a key competency for medical students, junior doctors and other allied health professionals. Using A, B, C, D, E is a helpful and systematic method for <a href="/articles/chest-x-ray-an-approach-summary">chest x-ray review</a> where A refers to the assessment of the airways.</p><h4>Reference article</h4><p>This is a <a href="/articles/summary-article">summary article</a>; we do not have a more in-depth reference article.</p><h4>Summary</h4><ul>
  • +<h6>This is a basic article for medical students and other non-radiologists</h6><p><strong>Chest x-ray review</strong> is a key competency for medical students, junior doctors and other allied health professionals. Using<a title="Chest x-ray: ABCDE (summary)" href="/articles/chest-x-ray-abcde-summary"> A, B, C, D, E</a> is a helpful and systematic method for <a href="/articles/chest-x-ray-an-approach-summary">chest x-ray review</a> where A refers to the assessment of the airways.</p><h4>Reference article</h4><p>This is a <a href="/articles/summary-article">summary article</a>; we do not have a more in-depth reference article.</p><h4>Summary</h4><ul>

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