Yet again, hospital emergency departments and intensive care units are becoming overwhelmed. Doctors, nurses and medical personnel are being asked to go above and beyond to protect patients — and to do it quickly.

Portable suction can be a quick emergency intervention, a long-term treatment for patients under anesthesia, or a way to maintain safety and hygiene for people on ventilators. No matter how and when you use suction, no matter how routine it seems, it’s important to remember that no patient is routine. Each has their own story and own unique needs. Equally important, each presents a risk of infection and contagion if you do not correctly manage waste and clean up after suctioning. Here are the things you must check every time you use a portable suction machine. 

When you think about the components of a well-equipped tactical medical kit, what naturally come to mind are the tools needed to deal with trauma-related injuries: hemostatic agents, dressings and bandages, and tourniquets and chest seals. What may not spring to mind is your portable suction unit. But it should. If you’re trying to control oral exsanguination or attempting to visualize the cords during intubation, nothing can take the place of an effective portable suction unit.

Those of us in the medical profession know how important quality equipment is to overall patient care. We are only as good as our equipment; if it doesn't function, it's hard for us to function.

Ask any paramedic and they’ll tell you one of the most critical pieces of equipment in their EMS arsenal is their portable suction unit. Nothing takes the place of a suction unit. There is no other means of removing blood, vomit, or secretions from an airway, except through immediate, aggressive suction. This is why the maintenance of your unit is vital to airway management.

Watching television commercials, and the apparent growing obsession with white teeth in the United States, you would think that dental health is of primary importance to most Americans. And yet millions fail to follow basic guidelines on oral health, such as regular cleanings. There are many reasons for this, the most obvious being the high cost of dental care. Another is lack of insurance, which again places patients in the difficult position of caring for their teeth versus more immediate expenses.

When you think back to what EMS equipment used to be like, you can appreciate the vast changes that have taken place. Oxygen bottles were larger, heavier, and a burden to drag on scene. Monitors were clunky and not nearly as sophisticated. And stretchers required back-breaking labor to lift and haul.

Let's face it: Pediatric patients can be intimidating. They're small, they cry a lot, they require different medication dosages, and, fortunately, we don't run into them with great frequency.

Your portable suction device is a vital piece of equipment, yet you may give it little thought on a shift-by-shift basis. We take for granted the critical role it plays in airway patency, assuming there is no need for preplanning or strategizing. But there are some simple steps you can take to ensure your suction unit remains operational, and part of the life-saving lineup you rely on each shift. Let’s discuss some of the strategies employed when deciding what to include with your portable suction device.