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?
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?
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?
Neck trauma, penetrating and blunt trauma can result in ?
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 ?
Causes of ventilation problems?
1.Direct chest trauma
2. Intracranial injury
3. Cervical spine injury
4. Complete Cervical cord transection
Objective signs of Inadequte ventilation ?
LOOK, LISTEN, FEEL?
How to minimize failure to recognize inadequte ventilation?
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?
When to intervene with a patient with a patent airway?
Helmet removal?
Factors that indicate diffcult airways?