ATLS Flashcards
How do you asses airway adequacy ?
By talking to the patient, if the patient answers appropriately and with a clear voice. The airway is in the moment patent. ventilation is sufficent and brain perfusion is good.
Definie the term “definitive airway”
A tube placed in the trachea with the cuff inflated below the vocal cords , the tube connected to a form of oxygen-enriched assited ventilation and the airway secured in place with an appropriate stabilizing method.
How do i know the airway is patent?
- Patient is alert and oriented
- Patient is talking normally
- No evidence of head or neck injury
- You have assesed and reassesed for detoriation
Signs of airway compromise? (Look, hear and feel)
Look: Head or neck injury, sore throat, dyspnea, tachypnea, agitation, abnormal breathing pattern, low oxygen saturation and Deviated trachea
Listen: Change in voice, Noisy breathing, Lung fields with absent sounds
Feel: Subcutaneous emfysm in head neck or chest. Head or neck injury
Which patients are at risk for compromised ventilation?
- Unconscious patient with head injuries
- Obtunded patients (Alcohol, drugs)
- Patients with thoracic injuries
- Patients with facial burns
- Patients with potential inhalation injuries.
What is a huge pitfall during ventilation?
Aspiration due to vomiting
1. Ensure functional suction equipment close to hands
2. Rotate the patient laterally while protecting the cervical spine
Maxillofacial trauma, signs of potential airway obstruction?
- Fractures compromising naso or oropharynx
- Oropharyngeal hemorrhage
- Swelling
- Increased secretions
- Dislodged teeth
- Loss of airway structural support
- Altered level of conscioussnes
Neck trauma, penetrating and blunt trauma can result in ?
- Vascular injury with significant hematoma
- Displacement or obstruction of the airway
- Massive hemorrhage into the tracheobrachial tree
- Airway obstruction from disruption of larynx or trachea
Signs and symptoms of laryngeal fracture
1- Hoarsness (Heshet)
2. Subcutaneous emphysema
3. Palpable fracture
If laryngeal fracture is suspected?
A CT can confirm, only after patient stabilization.
Signs of airway obstruction? LOOK, LISTEN, HEAR
LOOK: Agitation? = Hypoxia?, Obtundation=hypercarbia?, Cyanosis, retractions and use of accessory muscles of ventilation, Labored respiration, Altered level of consiussness
Listen: Decreased or lack of breath sounds? = Pneumothorax or hemothorax
Noisy breathing = Obstructed breathing?
Snoring, gurgling or stridor = Partial occluusion of pharynx or larynx
heshet?
For a paitent who is gurgling, initialt assessment for ventialtion should include?
Looking for symmetrical chestrise and listening to breath sounds.
Decreased or absent breath sounds over one or two hemithoracies should alert the examiner to the prescence of ?
- Pneumothorax
- Hemithorax
- Contusion
- Flail chest
Causes of ventilation problems?
1.Direct chest trauma
2. Intracranial injury
3. Cervical spine injury
4. Complete Cervical cord transection
- Painful breathing, rapid and shallow ventilation and hypoxemia
- Abnormal breathing patterns and compromised breathing
- Diaphragmatic breathing and compromised ability to meet increased oxygen demands
- Abnormal breathing and paralysis of the intercostal muscles
Objective signs of Inadequte ventilation ?
LOOK, LISTEN, FEEL?
- Look: Look for assymetry or labored breathing
- Listen: Decreased or absent = thoracic injury and Rapid respiratory rate
- Adjuncts : Pulse oximeter and capnography when intubating
How to minimize failure to recognize inadequte ventilation?
- Monitor patients respiratory rate and work of breathing
- Obtain arterial or venous blood gas measurements
- Perform continous capnography
Symptoms of inadequate ventilation?
Difficulty breathing, shortness of breath and if the patient request to sit up to breath.
Objective signs of inadequte ventilation?
1.Tachypnea,
2.Tachycardia,
3.Arrythmia,
4.Altered mental status(Obtunded,combativeness, agigation and lethargy),
5.Use of accessory muscles,
6.Dimineshed breath sounds
Low oxygen saturation.
When performing airway maneuvers that do not involve neck motion, temporary release of c-spine protection is warrented?
False !!!
Trauma patients with glasgow coma scale of 8 or less require?
Prompt placement of definitive airway!
Airway management Techniques?
- Manual maneuvers( Chin lift, Jaw thrust)
- Basic adjuncts( Näskantarell, Svalgtub, Mask)
- Supraglottic adjuncts
- Intratracheal tube
When to intervene with a patient with a patent airway?
- Impending Airway compromise (Airway problem)
- Need for ventilation (Breathing problem)
- Shock (Circulation problem)
- Inability to self-protect airway (Disability problem)
- Need for suctioning
- Hypoxia
Helmet removal?
- Always 2 persons to protect C-spine
- one provides manual inline motion restrictions from below and one expands the sides and removes it from above.
Factors that indicate diffcult airways?
- C-spine injury
- Severe athritis of the C-spine
- Significant maxillofacial or mandibular trauma
- Obvious airway obstruction
- Limited mouth opening
- Obese patients
- Small chin, overbite, short muscular neck
- Pediatric patients