Airway Patency

Question: What physical actions could be used to relieve airway obstruction like that shown in Fig 1?

Fig 1 MRI of an anaesthetized child showing the tongue falling back against the soft palate with narrowing of the nasopharyngeal airway. Image courtesy of Von Ungern-Sternberg et. al. Pediatric Anesthesia Wiley-Blackwell 2005 15: 181-89

Question: What physical actions could be used to relieve airway obstruction like that shown in Fig 1?

Answer: Airway obstruction may be relieved by lifting the chin (Fig 2) and/or pulling the jaw forward, which is called 'jaw thrust' (Fig 3). A jaw thrust is painful and may stimulate a patient who is only lightly anaesthetized.

Question: How might the patency of an airway be improved?

Answer

Question: What physical actions could be used to relieve airway obstruction like that shown in Fig 1?

Answer: Airway obstruction may be relieved by lifting the chin (Fig 2) and/or pulling the jaw forward, which is called 'jaw thrust' (Fig 3). A jaw thrust is painful and may stimulate a patient who is only lightly anaesthetized.

Question: How might the patency of an airway be improved?

Answer: Patency may be improved by:

Insertion of an artificial airway. Examples include an oropharyngeal (Guedel) airway, nasopharyngeal airway, laryngeal mask airway (LMA) or tracheal tube (Fig 4)
Alternatively, turning the patient from the supine to the lateral position may improve airway patency, which is the basis of the recovery position

Fig 4 Artificial airways, clockwise from the top left: LMA, Guedel airway, nasopharyngeal airway and tracheal tube