AIRWAY Management

1. OropharyngealAirway
Placement
Pradeep Sharma
Manager-Quality & Administration
Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) : NABH 5th Edition

2. OropharyngealAirways
• Objectives

3. Oropharyngeal Airways
• Oropharyngeal airway (OP)
– Curved, Hard Plastic device that is designed
to go over the back of the tongue
– Prevents tongue from occluding airway
– Range in Size from 00 to 6
– Aids in Airway Suctioning

4. Oropharyngeal Airway
• There are several different styles of
OP Airways but all of them serve the
same general purpose.

5. Oropharyngeal Airway
• Indications
– OP Airways are indicated in unconscious
patients without a gag reflex
– An Oral Airway will prevent the tongue,
which is the most common airway
obstruction, from blocking the airway when
properly inserted.

6. Oropharyngeal Airway
• Contraindications
– OP Airways should NOT be used in
responsive patients
– Or in patients with a Gag Reflex.

7. Oropharyngeal Airway

8. Oropharyngeal Airway
• Selecting the Proper Size
– Measure from the corner of the patient’s mouth
to the angle of the jaw.

9. Oropharyngeal Airway
• Insertion procedure
– Airway should be upside down as it is inserted
into mouth.

10. Oropharyngeal Airway
• Insertion procedure
– Rotate sideways as airway passes over tongue

11. Oropharyngeal Airway
• Insertion procedure
– Place in correct position once past the tongue with
the flange flush with the teeth.

12. Oropharyngeal Airway

13. Oropharyngeal Airway

14. Oropharyngeal Airway
“Failure to Manage the airway is a major cause
of preventable death in the Prehospital setting.
– Understand the importance of:
• Early Detection of Airway Problems
• Rapid and Effective Intervention
• Continual reassessment.”

15. OropharyngealAirways
• Summary

16. Oropharyngeal Airway
• Footnotes
– “Airway Adjuncts, Bag Mask Ventilation, and Laryngeal Mask
Airways” Matthew Musick, Fellows Boot Camp 2013 ppt
– http://www.slideshare.net/webservtech1/power-point-airway-
management
– “Unlocking Airway Management Skills…” Kansas BEMS EMS
Education Task Force August 2002
– “Airway, Airway – Who’s got the Airway?” Issues and Techniques in
EMS Airway Management by Silver Cross EMS System, January
2012
– “Airway Management and Ventilation” Chapter 15, Jones & Bartlett
Learning LLC, Copyright 2013 www.jblearning.com