Airway and Ventilation Flashcards
What are the 9 major components of the respiratory system?
- Nose and Mouth
- Pharynx
- Trachea and Larynx
- Epiglottis
- Bronchi and Lungs
- Diaphragm
What are 2 manoeuvres that you can use to open a patent’s airway? When should you use each?
Head-tilt / Chin-lift Manoeuvre
- for uninjured patients
- for patients with no head, neck, or spine injury
Jaw-Thrust Manoeuvre
- injured unconscious patients
- patients with head, neck, or spine injury
What are the 2 types of airway adjuncts? When should you use each one?
Oropharyngeal airway
- unresponsive without gag reflex
Nasopharyngeal airway
- responsive or has a gag reflex
How can you find out if a patient is breathing?
- look for rise and fall of chest
- listen for breath sounds
- feel for air coming out of the patients mouth or nose against your cheek
When would you place a patient in the lateral recumbent position?
- clearing the airway
- suctioning the airway
- patient is breathing adequately and has a pulse
What are signs of inadequate breathing?
- agonal respirations
- Breathing rate:
< 8 in adults
< 10 in children
< 20 in infants - inadequate chest wall motion
- cyanonsis
- mental status change - becomes drowsy, confused, disorientated
- gasping / grunting
- increased work of breathing (WOB) - using additional muscles of the abdomen to move air in and out - faired nostrils
- slow heart rate accompanied by slow breathing
What are 3 techniques used by an EMR to artificially ventilate a patent? In order of preference
- Mouth to mask
- Mouth to barrier device
- Mouth to mouth
What are the signs to show your ventilations are adequate?
- rate of ventilation (1 every 3-5 seconds infant/child)
- rate of ventilation (1 every 5-6 seconds adult)
- force of air is sufficient to cause rise and fall of chest each time
- patient’s heart rate decreases or returns to a more normal rate
- patient’s colour improves
How do you perform artificial ventilation? Briefly describe each step including rates for infants, children, and adults
- clear the airway
- position and secure the mask (mouth to mask)
- ensure mask is sealed
- open the airway
- deliver 2 initial breaths
- determine if ventilations are adequate (rise and fall of chest)
- continue ventilations at appropriate rate;
newborn - 40 - 60/min each breath 1 second
infants/child - 12 - 20/min each breath 1 second
adult - 10 - 12/min each breath 1 second
How do you relieve an FBAO in a responsive adult? Briefly describe each step.
Foreign Body Airway Obstruction (FBAO)
- get in position behind the patient wrap arms around waist keeping elbows out, away from patients ribs
- position hands make a fist with one hand and place thumb side just above patient’s naval well below xiphoid process
- perform abdominal thrust quick inward and upward
- continue until FBAO is dislodged or patient becomes unconscious
How do you relieve an FBAO in an unresponsive 5yr old child? Briefly describe each step.
- Get in position - kneel along side patient
- position hands same as you would for CPR
- perform 30 chest thrusts (no pulse check)
- Look into mouth for foreign body, if present remove
- Open airway with head-tilt /chin-lift
- Attempt to ventilate
- If successful continue ventilation
- If unsuccessful reposition patient’s head and try again
- If still unsuccessful continue with chest compressions and repeat cycle until successful or relieved by other EMS personnel
What is COPD? and what does it do to a patients body and what do you need to watch for.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
- patients can not eliminate carbon dioxide properly so their body has adapted to high carbon dioxide and low O2 levels. They are stimulated to breath by O2 receptors in their aorta and carotid arteries, so providing O2 therapy may supply high enough O2 levels to stop the body’s messages to breath. Monitor COPD patients closely
What is the O2 percentage and flow rate for a nasal cannula?
22 - 44 percent and 1L to 6L /min.
What is the O2 percentage and flow rate for a non-rebreather mask?
up to 90 percent and 10 - 15L/min
What is the O2 percentage and flow rate for a BVM?
almost 100 percent when used with O2 and should be run at 15L/min or greater
