When your patient cannot mobilize and clear secretions on his own, you may need to suction his airway. Your method of suctioning will depend on whether the patient has an artificial airway and what portion of the airway needs to be cleared.

After a successful intubation, your patient is mechanically ventilated with a patent airway and his vital signs stabilize. Then, while transporting your patient, you notice a sawtooth pattern to the ventilator waveform. The patient’s cough is not “junky” and his oxygen saturation remains stable.

You may be thinking your patient needs some sedation to help him synchronize with the ventilator. But hold on—perhaps you are missing something.

Every good nurse knows that the job involves much more than simply treating the patient’s current illness or injury. Instead, nurses should try to anticipate potential complications that could arise for their patients and implement measures to prevent them from happening.

No matter how many times you’ve performed portable suctioning procedures on patients, there will always be potential risks that could lead to failure and life-threatening complications. If equipped with the right preventative tools and resources, however, you will be able to respond quickly and effectively to a failed suctioning attempt, and ultimately, avoid causing more harm to your patient during the process. 

Users of battery powered portable suction devices often comment that it “sucks”. This can be interpreted two ways–either negatively or positively. When the negative sentiment applies, there’s no need to despair or throw the unit across the room

The majority of portable suction devices are powered by sealed lead acid batteries. While this type of battery uses stable and reliable chemistry, it can lose capacity over time and require replacement. When buying a replacement battery for your portable suction device, there are a few things you should keep in mind.

Even in a brand new hospital with all of the latest technology, systems are not completely foolproof. As a medical professional, the more you can anticipate problems, the more prepared you will be to handle them and advanced planning may help avoid a potential crisis.

A hospital visit can save a patient’s life. It can also destroy it if they pick up a virulent healthcare-associated infection (HAI). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that on any given day, 1 in 31 hospital patients have at least one HAI. 

The Yankauer suction catheter has a long and storied history in both emergency medicine and routine care. Developed in 1907, it has been a mainstay of airway management for more than a century. Dr. Yankauer was a groundbreaking provider in his time, who wanted to carefully suction surgical patients without damaging delicate tissue.

Sooner or later, every nurse must suction a patient. For nurses who work in intensive care units or emergency care or who support patients with spinal cord injuries, suctioning may be a daily part of the job. When suctioning becomes routine, it’s easy to lose sight of the risks. A few simple precautionary measures can reduce the risk and improve patient outcomes.