Airway Management Flashcards
6 cards from real AMLS practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Airway Management flashcards as text
Which airway adjunct is preferred for an unconscious patient without a gag reflex who cannot be intubated immediately?
Answer: Oropharyngeal airway (OPA)
An OPA is appropriate for unconscious patients without a gag reflex to maintain tongue displacement and allow effective BVM ventilation.
Which is the most reliable method to confirm correct endotracheal tube placement?
Answer: Waveform capnography showing consistent ETCO2 waveform
Continuous waveform capnography is the gold standard for confirming and monitoring ETT placement, as it detects every breath delivered to the lungs.
In rapid sequence intubation (RSI), what is the purpose of the defasciculating dose of a non-depolarizing agent before succinylcholine?
Answer: Prevent fasciculations and associated intracranial and intraocular pressure rise
A defasciculating dose of a non-depolarizing NMBA blunts the muscle fasciculations from succinylcholine, which can transiently raise ICP and IOP.
Which neuromuscular blocking agent is contraindicated in burn patients, crush injury, or hyperkalemia due to risk of fatal hyperkalemia?
Answer: Succinylcholine
Succinylcholine causes potassium release from acetylcholine receptors; in burns, crush injuries, or upregulated receptors, this can cause fatal hyperkalemia.
What is the LEMON law mnemonic used for in airway management?
Answer: Predicting difficult laryngoscopy and intubation
LEMON (Look externally, Evaluate 3-3-2, Mallampati, Obstruction, Neck mobility) is used to predict difficult laryngoscopy before RSI.
A patient in respiratory failure cannot be intubated and cannot be mask-ventilated. What is the definitive emergency intervention?
Answer: Cricothyrotomy (surgical or needle)
In a 'can't intubate, can't oxygenate' (CICO) scenario, cricothyrotomy provides emergency surgical airway access.