All chapters
Assessment & Critical Care · Chapter 9 Not started
Airway Management
Opening, clearing, and maintaining the airway — the most immediately life-saving skill set in OEC.
Key points
- No airway, no patient: an obstructed airway kills in minutes and takes priority over almost everything else.
- Open the airway with a head-tilt/chin-lift; use a jaw thrust when spine injury is suspected.
- An oropharyngeal airway (OPA) is only for patients without a gag reflex; a nasopharyngeal airway (NPA) tolerates a gag reflex but is avoided with suspected skull/facial fractures.
- Suction what you can see: limit each pass (roughly 15 seconds in adults, less in children) and reoxygenate between passes.
- Ventilate with a bag-valve mask at about 10 breaths/min for adults — just enough volume for visible chest rise; two-rescuer BVM gives a far better seal.
- Snoring suggests tongue obstruction, gurgling means fluid needing suction, and stridor suggests upper-airway narrowing.
Knowledge check1 / 3