Suction plays a critical role in numerous medical procedures. It’s also a key component of every tactical medical kit. Yet many first responders and other medical professionals are familiar with only one or two suction aspirators. In an emergency or when you collaborate with another agency, your familiarity with a wide range of suction equipment may be the most important factor in patient outcomes. Here are the types of suction aspirators you might encounter.

An emergency aspirator can save lives. It can also be intimidating to patients, and first responders may be reluctant to use the device in the absence of clear indications. There is no reason to deny or delay suction to a patient who shows an obvious need. So when should you use an emergency aspirator? The short answer is that an emergency aspirator may be appropriate any time there is any sort of airway obstruction. Here are some of the most common usage indications.

Supraglottic airway devices are a mainstay of emergency management. They open the upper airway, allowing a person to breathe when there is an airway obstruction. Supraglottic devices such as the laryngeal mask airway (LMA) were once primarily used in surgical settings where a patient was under general anesthesia. Today, these devices are standard in many first responder’s kit because of their ability to quickly and safely secure the airway. When tracheal intubation or mask ventilation fail or become impossible to manage, a supraglottic airway can fill the void, preventing or treating serious respiratory emergencies. 

While the mortality rate of aspiration pneumonia depends on complications of the disease, the 30-day mortality rate hovers around 21%, with a higher rate of  29.7% in hospital-associated aspiration pneumonia. For uncomplicated pneumonia, the mortality rate is still high, hovering around 5%.

These stats mean that first responders, doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers should always treat aspiration pneumonia as a medical emergency with a high mortality risk. Diligent airway management can prevent aspiration pneumonia in many emergent and surgical scenarios, and prompt emergency intervention can reduce aspirate volume in people actively aspirating.