Tag: airway management
- Airway Burns ()
Introduction Inhalation injury is a broad term that includes pulmonary exposure to a wide range of chemicals in various forms including smoke, gases, vapors, or fumes. Inhalation injury from smoke exposure is commonly seen in patients exposed to fires. Smoke inhalation is one of the most commonly encountered inhalation injuries and is the primary focus of […]
- Airway Management ()
Introduction To be skillful at airway management, the provider must know the critical anatomical, physiological, and pathological features related to the airway. They should also be aware of the various tools and methods that have been developed for this purpose. It is additionally important to know the indications, contraindications, and complications of endotracheal intubation. It […]
- Laryngeal mask airways (LMA) ()
Laryngeal mask airways (LMA) are single-use or reusable supraglottic airway devices which may be used as a temporary method to maintain an open airway during the administration of anesthesia or as an immediate life-saving measure in a difficult or failed airway as outlined in the difficult airway algorithm published by many societies of anesthesiology worldwide. Introduced into clinical practice […]
- Advanced Suctioning ()
Airways suctioning is indicated for multiple reasons. Most commonly, suctioning is done for the removal of secretions from the respiratory tract, but sometimes also for the removal of blood or other materials like meconium in specific cases. Airway suctioning is also performed for diagnostic purposes. For example, airway secretions may be sent for microbiological and […]
- Pediatric Airway Compromise ()
Initial management of pediatric patients is guided by the primary survey. The equipment used for adults such as oropharyngeal and nasopharyngeal airways are the same for pediatric patients as they are adults, only smaller. All patients with respiratory distress should immediately be given high flow oxygen via non rebreather mask, blow by, or positive pressure […]
- Normal Ventilation vs Positive Pressure Ventilation ()
Air movement In normal ventilation, the lungs are stretched out by the ribs and diaphragm. This creates a vacuum resulting in air filling up the pharynx and filling the lungs with air. In positive pressure ventilation, air is pushed into the patient’s pharynx with great pressure. The air fills the dead space of the airway […]
- Management of Inadequate Ventilation ()
When the patient is unresponsive and demonstrates any deficiencies with rate, rhythm, or quality in breathing, the patient probably needs to be ventilated with a pocket face mask or bag valve mask. The easiest and smallest device that would give the provider the ability to ventilate without performing mouth to mouth resuscitation is a pocket […]
- Oxygen Delivery Devices ()
The nasal cannula (NC) is a device used to deliver supplemental oxygen or increased airflow to a patient or person in need of respiratory help. This device consists of a lightweight tube which on one end splits into two prongs which are placed in the nostrils and from which a mixture of air and oxygen […]
- Supplemental Oxygen Therapy ()
Portable Oxygen Cylinders Ambulances typically carry D and E cylinders. These cylinder are portable and allow the ambulance crew to bring oxygen to the patient prior to transport. D cylinders carry 350 liters of oxygen and E cylinders carry 625 liters of oxygen. Anything that flows can be measured with a unit of volume (just […]
- How To Assess Breathing Status in Unconscious Patients ()
The patient in this picture is unconscious. Normally, we could ask the conscious patient about the status of their airway and breathing, but this is different. As explained before, the airway must be assessed in an unconscious patient. This involved opening the airway with a manual maneuver, then looking, listening, and feeling for breathing to […]