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The oropharyngeal airway was designed by Arthur Guedel. [2]Oropharyngeal airways come in a variety of sizes, from infant to adult, and are used commonly in pre-hospital emergency care and for short term airway management post anaesthetic or when manual methods are inadequate to maintain an open airway.
Oropharyngeal airways are one of several different blind insertion airway devices. A blind insertion airway device (BIAD or blind insertion device) is a medical device used for airway management that ensures an open pathway between a patient's lungs and the outside world, as well as reducing the risk of aspiration, which can be placed without visualization of the glottis. [1]
Airway obstruction is commonly caused by the tongue, the airways itself, foreign bodies or materials from the body itself, such as blood or vomit. [ 2 ] Contrary to advanced airway management , basic airway management technique do not rely on the use of invasive medical equipment and can be performed with less training.
A model of an oropharyngeal airway (OPA) preventing the tongue from obstructing the airway. An oropharyngeal airway (OPA) is a rigid tube that is inserted into the mouth through the oropharynx and placed above the tongue to move it away from the back of the throat. [2] [4] They are more commonly used than nasopharyngeal airways (NPAs). [4]
Oropharyngeal airways in a range of sizes. Oropharyngeal airways are curved, rigid plastic devices, inserted into the patient's mouth. Oropharyngeal airways are produced in various lengths and diameters to accommodate for gender and anatomical variations. It is especially useful in patients with excessive tongue and other soft tissues.
Healthcare professionals are recommended to use, if available, an oropharyngeal airway: in the infant, placed by the use of a tongue depressor and without rotating. After first 5 breaths, if effective, it is also advisable to search for signs such movements, coughing, shortness and possibly only the presence of pulse, for less than 10 seconds.
In its basic (standard) version, the laryngeal tube is made up of a tube with a larger balloon cuff in the middle (oropharyngeal cuff) and a smaller balloon cuff at the end (oesophageal cuff). The tube is kinked at an angle of 30-45° in the middle; the kink is located in the larger cuff.
An oropharyngeal or nasopharyngeal airway is used during bag-valve-mask ventilation to prevent soft tissues from blocking the airway. An oropharyngeal airway may cause gagging and vomiting. Therefore, an oropharyngeal airway must be sized appropriately. An airway that is incorrectly sized can worsen the airway obstruction.