A-E Flashcards
Causes of airway obstruction?
Reduced conscious level
Foreign body - blood, object, vomit
Oedema narrowing the airway - anaphylaxis, burn, infection
Tumour or lymphadenopathy causing a local mass effect
Laryngospasm caused by asthma, GORD, intubation
Sign of partial and complete obstructed airways?
Snoring
Gurgling
Strider
Use of accessory muscle
Silent chest
See-saw chest
Head maneouvre to open the airway?
Head tilt, chin lift, jaw thrust
What are airway adjuncts?
Nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal airways
When should you not do a head tilt to open the airways?
If any concern about a c-spine injury e.g trauma
When are nasopharyngeal airways best?
During seizures as may not be able to insert a OPA
If conscious as better tolerated than OSA
What are the main issues with an oropharyngeal airway?
Poorly tolerated if conscious or semi-conscious as can induce the gag reflex
Can cause trauma to teeth and mucous membranes
How do we measure OPA and NPAs?
OPA - hard to hard - middle of teeth to edge of mandible
NPA - soft to soft - nose to tragus of ear
What are issues with NPAs?
Can cause epistaxis or nostril trauma
Contraindicated in basal skull fracture
Signs of a basal skull fracture?
Raccoon eyes
Halo sign
Battle sign
CSF rhinorrhoea
CN palsy
Bleeding from nose and ears
Hemotympanum
Deafness, nystagmus
Vomiting
What is good about an OPA?
Easy to insert and use
No paralysis required
Ideal for very short procedures or for bridging to more definitive airways
What are supraglottic airways?
A group of devices that sit abutting the larynx, above the vocal cords.
They are typically used as alternatives to endotracheal airways in short or low-risk anaesthetic cases. Also used in prehospital and cardiac arrest settings
Issues with supraglottic airways?
They do not protect against aspiration and therefore do not provide a definitive airway.
Complications include gastric insufflation, aspiration, laryngospasm and partial airway obstruction.
They should not be used if there is poor mouth opening, pharyngeal pathology or obstruction at/below the level of the larynx.
Examples of supraglottic airways?
Laryngeal mask airway
iGel
What is a laryngeal mask airway?
A reusable supraglottic device made of silicone rubber tube ending with an elliptical spoon-shaped mask that fits over the larynx and forms a low-pressure seal