Airway assessment and basic airway management

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Target exams

Red flags

• A child whose stridor softens, whose effort falls, or who becomes drowsy and bradycardic is obstructing, not improving
• Snoring in an unconscious child means the tongue is occluding the airway and will progress to complete obstruction
• Silence at the airway of a sick child is either a clear airway or complete obstruction; feel for air at the mouth to tell them apart
• An oropharyngeal airway in a child with a gag reflex provokes vomiting and aspiration
• A nasopharyngeal airway must be avoided in suspected basilar skull fracture or coagulopathy
• One-person bag-valve-mask ventilation with a poor seal causes gastric insufflation, regurgitation, and aspiration
• Persisting with failing basic airway technique instead of escalating delays the definitive airway

Life stages

Care settings

Clinical exam formats

Board mappings

• Opens and maintains a child's airway using head tilt-chin lift and jaw thrust
• Selects and sizes oropharyngeal and nasopharyngeal airways correctly
• Performs effective two-person bag-valve-mask ventilation
• Recognises the difficult paediatric airway and anticipates the child who will be hard to mask-ventilate
• Leads escalation from basic airway techniques to a definitive airway with anaesthetic and intensive care support
• Applies age-specific anatomy and physiology to airway decision-making in infants and children
• Initial airway assessment and basic airway management of an unconscious or obstructed child
• Correct positioning and adjunct selection for the paediatric airway
• Two-person bag-valve-mask ventilation technique
• Bedside recognition of the threatened and the failing paediatric airway
• Stepwise escalation of basic airway management and the decision to call for help
• Communication of an airway emergency and the immediate plan
• Level 1: Assesses and opens a child's airway using basic manoeuvres and adjuncts
• Level 2: Performs effective bag-valve-mask ventilation and recognises deterioration
• Level 3: Leads the airway response and coordinates escalation to a definitive airway
• Differences between the paediatric and adult airway and their clinical significance
• Indications, sizing, and complications of oropharyngeal and nasopharyngeal airways
• Technique and complications of bag-valve-mask ventilation in children
• Structured airway assessment of a child using look-listen-feel
• Demonstration of airway manoeuvres, adjunct sizing, and mask ventilation
• Safety-netting and communication when the airway is threatened
• Recognition and basic management of the obstructed paediatric airway
• Age-appropriate airway positioning, adjunct selection, and bag-valve-mask ventilation
• Recognition of the difficult airway and timely escalation
• Performs basic airway manoeuvres and adjunct placement in infants and children
• Demonstrates effective bag-valve-mask ventilation with a two-person technique
• Recognises airway deterioration and escalates to definitive airway management
• Canadian approach to paediatric basic airway assessment and management
• Age-based airway anatomy, positioning, and adjunct sizing
• Bag-valve-mask ventilation technique and escalation pathways