RRAPID Flashcards
What is the ABCDE approach?
Airway Breathing Circulation Disability Exposure
What should you look for in airway examination?
- Chest movements
- Accessory muscle use
- Foreign body obstruction
- Misting of oxygen mask
- Is airway patent?
What should you listen for in airway examination?
- Abnormal breath sounds
- Absent breath sounds
What should you feel for in airway examination?
Airflow on inspiration and expiration
If patient’s airway is not clear due to relaxed tongue blocking, what manoeuvres can be done?
Head tilt/chin lift
Jaw thrust
Describe the head tilt/chin lift
Finger under chin and tilt head backwards to open airway
Describe the jaw thrust
Fingers underneath angle of jaw and pull up towards ceiling to pull tongue forward
What else may be needed if patient airway is not clear / not breathing?
- Oxygen (15L/min via reservoir mask)
- Suction
- Remove foreign objects
- Airway adjuncts
What airway adjuncts are used?
- Nasopharyngeal tube
- Oropharyngeal tube
When would you use a naso tube over an oro one?
- Naso tubes better tolerated
- If oro can’t be used due to oral traumas
How can a naso tube me measured?
When held against the side of the face, a correctly sized airway will extend from the tip of the nose to the tragus of the ear.
When are oro tubes used?
If patient is unconscious
How can an oro tube be measured?
Hold the airway beside the patient’s cheek with the flange at the corner of the mouth. The tip of an appropriately sized airway should just reach the angle of the mandibular ramus.
What should you look for in breath examination?
- Respiratory rate
- Depth and symmetry
- Accessory muscle use (respiratory effort)
- Sweating
- Cyanosis (lips, under tongue)
- Ability to clear secretion by coughing
- Oxygen saturation
What is normal respiratory rate?
12-20 breaths per minute
What can asymmetrical expansion of chest suggest?
Pneumonia, a large pleural effusion, rib fracture, or pneumothorax.
What is normal oxygen saturation range?
95-100%
N.B. this is lower in COPD patients
Below 90% –> hypoxaemia
Below 80% –> chance of organ damage
What should you listen for in breathing examination?
- Ability to talk in complete sentences
- Coughing/noising breathing
- Percussion
- Chest auscultation
What is auscultation?
Listening to sounds from the heart, lungs, or other organs, typically with a stethoscope
Chest auscultation can assess airflow through trachea and bronchial tree
What are some upper airway noises?
- Stridor
- Snoring
- Gurgling
- Choking
- Hoareness
What does stridor indicate?
Harsh/high pitched noise on inspiration suggesting obstruction
What does snoring indicate?
Partially occluded pharynx