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. 

A number of things, including allergies, a minor cold, and the flu can all cause airway discomfort. And complications from these usually minor conditions can be dangerous, especially in vulnerable people such as elders and children. Also, serious conditions such as aspiration, partial obstructions, pneumonia, and other disorders may also trigger airway discomfort. As a first responder, it’s important to know when airway discomfort is a sign of a serious problem, or just a passing symptom. 

Training is an essential part of your job. With the demands of your work schedule, spending time with your family, and your daily obligations, you may find yourself struggling to find the motivation to put in extra time for training. But even the most skilled practitioners need to train—and train often—in order to best serve their patients when airway emergencies occur.

The ABCs of patient care begin with the airway. Does your patient have airway patency? Can your patient maintain his or her own airway? Are there any obstructions or contaminants obstructing the airway? Questions like these are likely second nature to you, and you probably don’t even realize you are asking them when caring for your patients.

While tachycardia can be a sign of respiratory distress, it also can be a complication of interventions to treat respiratory distress, including suctioning. First responders and medical providers must have a clear understanding of the link between tachycardia and suctioning so that they can reduce the risk of patient injuries and improve both long- and short-term outcomes. 

Seizures are a common emergency. First responders frequently encounter febrile seizures in children, epileptic seizures, and seizures due to brain anomalies such as dementia or brain lesions. In most cases, the seizure itself is not dangerous, but the medical condition that caused it may be.

Advanced airway management goes beyond simple airway management techniques you might learn in a single class. Advanced airway techniques fall into three broad categories, each with a wide variety of techniques and skills a practitioner must master. 

Precision and skill is required for Advanced airway management, especially in vulnerable patients. When performed correctly, initiating nasopharyngeal airways is very safe—and much safer than the alternative of doing nothing. Many first responders are reluctant to initiate a nasopharyngeal airway, citing fears of complications. But this route can enable intubation in patients with an intact gag reflex. Proper training can promote greater confidence, so don’t let fear deter you from practicing this life-saving technique. Forewarned is forearmed, so let’s look at some potential complications. 

We all know the key to a thorough patient assessment is to approach it systematically so that we don’t become distracted (by that bleeding scalp wound) or skip steps that may yield valuable information (like listening to breath sounds). There’s a reason we are all taught “head-to-toe” surveys: so that we work our way through essential assessment points, avoiding a haphazard exam where key signs are missed.