Orotracheal intubation should be performed with the patient's head:

• A. In the sniffing position
• B. In the prone position
• C. In the lateral decubitus
• D. In the Trendelenburg

Answer: (C)

The essential idea is aligning the airway axes to get a good view of the glottis during laryngoscopy. The sniffing position achieves this best: with the patient lying on their back, the head is flexed at the neck and the head and upper torso are elevated slightly, usually with a small pillow under the occiput and sometimes with gentle shoulder elevation. This alignment of the oral, pharyngeal, and laryngeal axes makes it easier to visualize the vocal cords and pass the tube in one smooth motion.

Other positions don’t provide that same alignment and tend to make the laryngoscopic view more difficult. In practice, for a routine orotracheal intubation, the sniffing position is preferred unless there are specific contraindications or emergency circumstances requiring a different approach.