eFONA
Medical abbreviation · Anesthesia
| Stands for | Emergency front-of-neck access |
|---|---|
| Categories | Medical |
eFONA stands for Emergency front-of-neck access, an anesthesia abbreviation.
Creation of a surgical airway through the cricothyroid membrane when all other methods of oxygenation have failed. The scalpel-bougie-tube cricothyroidotomy is the technique favored by several national airway guidelines.
Example: eFONA kit (scalpel, bougie, 6.0 cuffed tube) checked on the difficult airway cart.
Usage notes
Also written FONA. The cricothyroid membrane can be hard to feel in obese patients, so some anesthesiologists mark it with ultrasound before induction when a difficult airway is predicted. Needle techniques are mainly reserved for young children, whose cricothyroid membrane is very small.
Related abbreviations
More anesthesia abbreviations
- ASA – American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status classification
- BIS – Bispectral index
- CICO – Can't intubate, can't oxygenate
- CSE – Combined spinal-epidural
- DL – Direct laryngoscopy
- ESP – Erector spinae plane (block)
- EtCO2 – End-tidal carbon dioxide
- ETT – Endotracheal tube
- FOI – Fiberoptic intubation
- GA – General anesthesia
- GETA – General endotracheal anesthesia
- ISB – Interscalene brachial plexus block
See all 34 anesthesia abbreviations →
This entry is for general education and is not medical advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.