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An oropharyngeal airway (also known as an oral airway, OPA or Guedel pattern airway) is a medical device called an airway adjunct used in airway management to maintain or open a patient's airway. It does this by preventing the tongue from covering the epiglottis, which could prevent the person from breathing. When a person becomes unconscious ...
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]
Oropharyngeal airways of various sizes Oropharyngeal airways (OPA) are curved pieces of plastic that help to maintain a patent airway in unconscious patients, without a gag-reflex. To use the appropriate size is selected, and then the OPA is inserted with the tip towards the roof of the mouth.
An oropharyngeal airway is acceptable, however nasopharyngeal airways should be avoided in trauma, particularly if a basilar skull fracture is suspected. [42] Endotracheal intubation carries with it many risks, particularly when paralytics are used, as maintenance of the airway becomes a challenge if intubation fails.
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]
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.
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.
Airway obstruction is also common in people who have suffered smoke inhalation or burns within or near the airway or epiglottitis. Sustained generalized seizure activity and angioedema are other common causes of life-threatening airway obstruction which may require tracheal intubation to secure the airway.