Airway Management
Airway is the single highest-yield topic on every NREMT exam. It shows up in trauma, medical, pediatric, and cardiology scenarios — and it's almost always the first correct action.
EMT · AEMT · Paramedic
BLS airway (EMT)
Positioning, suction, OPA/NPA, and BVM ventilation. The exam-favorite rule: a patient who tolerates an OPA needs a definitive airway soon.
- Head-tilt/chin-lift for medical, jaw thrust for trauma
- OPA: from corner of mouth to angle of jaw
- NPA: from tip of nose to tragus
- BVM at 10–12 breaths/min for an adult, 20 for a child
AEMT airway
Supraglottic airways (King, i-gel, LMA), continuous waveform capnography, and blind insertion airway devices. Capnography ≥ 35 mmHg roughly confirms adequate ventilation.
Paramedic airway
Endotracheal intubation, drug-assisted airway (DAI) and RSI in many systems, and full waveform capnography interpretation — from confirmation to identifying ROSC by a sudden ETCO₂ jump.
How to answer airway questions on the NREMT
When two answers look plausible, the correct one is almost always the least invasive intervention that fixes the immediate problem. A patient with agonal breathing gets a BVM before a supraglottic — not the other way around.
Frequently asked
- What's the first step in airway management?
- Position and open the airway. Suction and adjuncts come after positioning. On trauma patients, use a jaw thrust to avoid spinal motion.
- When do I switch from OPA to a supraglottic airway?
- When ventilations are difficult, when the patient will tolerate a supraglottic without gagging, or when transport time makes a definitive airway safer.
- What ETCO₂ range indicates adequate ventilation?
- Roughly 35–45 mmHg. Values below 35 in a perfused patient often mean over-ventilation; values above 45 usually mean hypoventilation.
Test yourself
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