Chief among a health care provider’s worst nightmares, apart from losing a patient, is unintentionally doing harm to one. In addition to a feeling of failure or shame, a poor outcome carries the risk of a malpractice allegation.

The right suction catheter can save patients’ lives. The wrong one can cause pharyngeal injuries, reduce suction power, and even increase morbidity and mortality. Whether you’re purchasing suction catheters for portable use in EMS settings, for the hospital, or for a medical clinic, selecting a variety of tips is key. This strategy ensures that providers always have the right suction catheter on hand. Here are some questions to ask before making your next purchase.

We all know what an important role suctioning plays in airway management. Imagine treating a respiratory, trauma, or cardiac arrest patient without the aid of suction. Impossible, right? Effective nasotracheal suctioning can mean the difference between a patent and a non-patent airway. It can also mean the difference between life and death for your patient. 

Over the years, anesthesia has become increasingly common in most surgical procedures — even minor ones. In fact, approximately 40 million surgical procedures utilize an anesthetic each year. Some procedures, such as dental extractions and implants, require anesthesia, regardless of the patient’s preference. 

Sooner or later, every first responder encounters a tactical medical scenario. These high-stress, high-stakes events demand a prompt and competent response. Some of the most common injuries include collapsed lungs, hemorrhages, airway obstructions, and emergency mental health issues. First responders themselves may also face dangers, so it’s important to plan to protect yourself, not just your patients. 

As a foundational tool in the basic airway management toolkit, bag valve mask ventilation can save lives, relieve patient stress, and make transport easier. Bag valve mask ventilation is appropriate when a patient shows signs of hypoxic respiratory failure, apnea, or hypoxically induced altered mental states. Patients who are hyperventilating or have sustained injuries that reduce respiratory effort may also require ventilation. It may be appropriate to ventilate women in labor when there is reason to believe that they are not getting adequate oxygen or are so fatigued that breathing becomes difficult.

Air pollution is everywhere – in our homes, work environments and outdoor spaces – and the quality of the air we breathe has a significant impact on our short- and long-term respiratory health. Recent data from the American Lung Association demonstrates that, in 2022, more than 40% of Americans are living in places with failing grades for unhealthy levels of particle pollution or ozone. 

It’s a nightmare scenario, but if your hospital experiences a total power outage, you still need to care for patients. You might be able to navigate the darkened rooms with a flashlight and emergency lighting, but how will you oxygenate that ventilated patient? How will you suction them?

The code is going smoothly. Good CPR is being delivered, and IVs have been established, allowing you to give first-round drugs. And although you don’t have the patient intubated, your partner is bagging effectively, you have good chest rise, and the capnography waveform is textbook. Suddenly, the patient’s entire stomach contents erupt. The firefighter doing CPR is doused, the airway is now obstructed, and your perfect code is spinning out of control.

Early training in airway management usually focuses on easy cases. Even as you graduate to working on the difficult airway, classroom training can’t fully prepare you for the many challenges emergency care will throw at you. You may have to tend to patients who are angry and combative, manage delicate airways in frigid cold or dangerous heat, treat patients in unsecured settings, and help people with dementia, developmental delays, or severe mental illness to understand the process of airway management. These tips can help you maintain a patent airway even in challenging situations.