Causes of Upper Airway Obstruction
The causes of upper airway obstruction can be divided into:
The causes of upper airway obstruction can be divided into:
Decreased muscle tone
In an unconscious
patient, there is a loss of normal muscular tone in the oropharynx. This
will cause the soft palate, tongue and glottis to come into contact with
the posterior nasopharyngeal wall, leading to obstruction of the
airway.
The causes of upper airway obstruction can be divided into:
Secretions
This includes mucus, blood and
vomit.
The causes of upper airway obstruction can be divided into:
Bleeding/oedema
Bleeding may occur following
neck surgery, trauma or central venous catheterization. Other patients at
risk are those with an abnormal bleeding tendency or on anticoagulant
therapy.
Haematomas that arise in the neck following surgery may lead to obstruction. This requires immediate suture or clip removal, followed by evacuation of the blood.
Obstruction may occur in the form of airway oedema or tissue oedema following neck surgery.
The causes of upper airway obstruction can be divided into:
Foreign body
This includes teeth, dentures
and throat packs.
The causes of upper airway obstruction can be divided into:
Pre-existing disorders
An example of a
pre-existing disorder is sleep apnoea which is characterized by pauses in
breathing during sleep. In obstructive sleep apnoea there is a physical
block to airflow. This may be exacerbated by anaesthesia. Another example
is airway tumours.