Airway Management I Flashcards
(100 cards)
The upper airways or upper respiratory tract includes the nose and nasal passages, paranasal sinuses, the pharynx, and the portion of the larynx above the ___. The lower airways or lower respiratory tract includes the portion of the larynx below the _(same)_, trachea, bronchi and bronchioles.
- Vocal cords;
Note: The TCC Paramedic School curriculum emphasised the glottis as the division point between the upper and lower airways.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Respiratory_tract
Approximately ___% of the population has no gag reflex at baseline.
- 30;
Major Memory System: Male homos (30) engage in oral sex without exhibiting a gag reflex.
Manual of Emergency Airway Management, 3rd Ed.
___ refers to injuries caused by increased air or water pressure, such as during airplane flights or scuba diving.
- Barotrauma;
Note: Barotrauma of the inner ear is common. Generalized barotraumas, including decompression sickness, affect the entire body.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/a_to_z/barotrauma-a-to-z
What is the name of the air reservoir to which a syringe is connected in order to inflate an endotracheal tube cuff?
- Pilot balloon;
https://www.medscape.com/answers/865068-32798/what-is-the-role-of-the-pilot-balloon-on-a-cuffed-tracheostomy-tube
“There aren’t Mac or Miller paramedics, there are Mac or Miller ___.”
- Patients;
Missy, TCC Paramedic School Adjunct Professor
The ___ cartilage is a ring of _(cartilage type)_ cartilage located at the inferior aspect of the ___ and is the only complete ring of cartilage around the trachea.
- Cricoid;
- Hyaline;
- Larynx;
* https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1949369-overview*
What does the acronym NO DESAT stand for?
NO DESAT
N - Nasal
O - Oxygen
D - During
E - Efforts
S - Securing a
T - Tube
https://epmonthly.com/article/no-desat/
The ___ is a small pointed eminence of the external ear, situated in front of the concha, and projecting backward over the meatus.
- Tragus;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragus_(ear)
Colorimetric capnometers turn from _(color)_ to _(color)_ when carbon dioxide is introduced.
- Purple;
- Yellow;
Note: Purple = Problem, Gold = Golden;
https://www.medtronic.com/covidien/en-us/products/intubation/nellcor-adult-pediatric-colorimetric-co2-detector.html
The ___ reflex is of no clinical value when assessing the need for intubation, and in fact may be dangerous to assess. Evaluation of spontaneous or volitional ___ is a better assessment of a patient’s ability to protect their airway.
- Gag;
- Swallowing;
* Manual of Emergency Airway Management, 5th Ed.*
The decision to intubate should be based on three fundamental clinical assessments:
- ___
- ___
- ___
- Is there a failure of airway maintenance or protection?
- Is there a failure of ventilation or oxygenation?
- What is the anticipated clinical course?
* Manual of Emergency Airway Management, 5th Ed.*
The presence of pooled ___ in a patient’s ___ should be considered to indicate a potential failure of airway protection.
- Secretions;
- Oropharynx;
* Manual of Emergency Airway Management, 3rd Ed.*
Unless ventilatory or oxygenation failure is due to a ___ cause, such as narcotic overdose, ___ is required.
- Reversible;
- Intubation;
* Manual of Emergency Airway Management, 3rd Ed.*
When evaluating a patient for emergency airway management, the first assessment should be of the ___ and ___ of the airway. In many cases, these can be superficially confirmed by simpy having the patient ___.
- Patency;
- Adequacy;
- Speak (Ask questions such as “What is your name?”);
* Manual of Emergency Airway Management, 3rd Ed.*
Intermittent expiratory moaning, often exhibited by patients in pain.
- Hysterical (or psychogenic) stridor;
Manual of Emergency Airway Management, 3rd Ed.
If spinal cord injury has impaired intercostal muscle functioning, ___ breathing may be present. In this form of breathing, there is little movement of the ___, and inspiration is evidenced by an apparent increase in ___ volume.
- Diaphragmatic;
- Chest wall;
- Abdominal;
* Manual of Emergency Airway Management, 3rd Ed.*
A medical term meaning “naturally accompanying or associated with.”
- Concomitant;
Google Dictionary
If doubt exists as to whether a patient requires intubation, err on the side of ___.
- Intubating the patient;
Manual of Emergency Airway Management, 3rd Ed.
The gag reflex is not involved in ___ closure or protection of the ___.
- Laryngeal;
- Airway;
* Manual of Emergency Airway Management, 3rd Ed.*
The ability of a patient to ___ with a ___, unobstructed voice is strong evidence of airway patency, protection, and ___ perfusion.
- Phonate;
- Clear;
- Cerebral;
* Manual of Emergency Airway Management, 5th Ed.*
Although an oropharyngeal or nasopharyngeal airway may restore airway patency in a severly ill or injured patient, they do not provide any protection against ___.
- Aspiration;
Manual of Emergency Airway Management, 5th Ed.
Patients who are unable to maintain their own airway are also unable to ___ it. Therefore, as a general rule, any patient who requires the establishment of a patent airway also requires ___ of that airway.
- Protect;
- Protection;
Note: The exception is when a patient has an immediately reversible cause of airway compromise.
Manual of Emergency Airway Management, 5th Ed.
The finding of pooled ___ in a patient’s ___ indicates a potential failure of airway protective mechanisms, and hence a failure of airway ___.
- Secretions;
- Posterior oropharynx;
- Protection;
* Manual of Emergency Airway Management, 5th Ed.*
If a patient is unable to ___ sufficiently, or if adequate ___ cannot be achieved despite the use of supplemental oxygen, then intubation is indicated.
- Ventilate;
- Oxygenation;
* Manual of Emergency Airway Management, 5th Ed.*


