Time to stop sniffing the air: snapshot survey.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether the phrase "sniffing the morning air" is useful in positioning patients for tracheal intubation. DESIGN Snapshot survey. SETTING Teaching hospital. PARTICIPANTS 21 anaesthetists. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Angles of neck, line of sight, and hip to shoulder, as measured on a photograph. RESULTS Angles ranged widely, especially line of sight: 7 degrees -37 degrees with horizontal. CONCLUSIONS As patients are positioned supine, rather than standing, the phrase is unhelpful; an explicit description of head position would be better.