This article aims to help nurses to open and maintain an adult’s airway while providing breaths using a self-inflating bag and face mask. Maintaining a patient’s airway is vital in the management of acute, life-threatening illnesses and injuries.
The nurse should address airway compromise immediately since it is a major factor in acute deterioration and may develop rapidly.
The nurse should perform the head tilt and chin lift manoeuvre, or the jaw thrust manoeuvre for patients with suspected cervical spine injury, to maintain airway opening.
Clinical skills articles can help update your practice and ensure it remains evidence based. Apply this article to your practice. Reflect on and write a short account of:
What you have gained from this article.
How this article will influence your practice.
Subscribers can upload their reflective accounts at:
Nursing Standard. 30, 19, 36-38. doi: 10.7748/ns.30.19.36.s41
Correspondence Peer reviewAll articles are subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software.
Received: 19 September 2014
Accepted: 05 November 2014
or
Alternatively, you can purchase access to this article for the next seven days. Buy now
Are you a student? Our student subscription has content especially for you.
Find out more