Airway management

Airway management is the assessment and support of breathing, including measures to keep the airway open and procedures that provide or secure ventilation.

Head-tilt–chin-lift maneuver: A manual maneuver that tilts the head and lifts the chin to move the tongue away from the upper airway. This basic maneuver relieves many cases of airway obstruction caused by relaxed soft tissues.
Airway obstruction: Partial or complete blockage of airflow through the respiratory tract. Recognizing its location and severity determines which opening or bypass technique may work.
Rapid sequence induction: A method of inducing anesthesia and rapidly securing the airway while reducing aspiration risk. It structures urgent intubation when a full stomach or aspiration risk is suspected.
Aspiration pneumonia: A lung infection that develops after inhaled material introduces pathogens into the lower respiratory tract. Airway protection aims to reduce aspiration, though no device eliminates the risk.
Jaw-thrust maneuver: A manual airway-opening maneuver that moves the lower jaw forward without extending the neck. It can open the airway when neck movement should be minimized.
Respiratory distress: A clinical state of difficult or labored breathing that may progress to respiratory failure. Visible effort can signal the need for airway support before breathing stops.
Difficult airway: An airway situation in which ventilation, intubation, or both are expected to be challenging. Anticipating difficulty changes equipment, personnel, and backup plans before an attempt.
Barotrauma: Tissue injury caused by pressure differences, including lung injury from positive-pressure ventilation. Excessive ventilation pressures can injure lungs during respiratory support.
Oropharyngeal airway: A curved device inserted through the mouth to keep the tongue from blocking the upper airway. It maintains patency in an unresponsive person without an intact gag reflex.
Hypoxemia: An abnormally low level of oxygen in arterial blood. It indicates impaired oxygenation, which airway opening alone may not correct.

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