Although originally intended to treat prehospital patients in pulmonary edema resulting from heart failure, CPAP is now indicated for virtually any condition resulting in significant dyspnea accompanied by signs and symptoms of increased work of breathing.
Learn the history of the oropharyngeal airway (OPA) and review how to size the OPA for the patient, as well as the correct way to insert this basic, and effective, airway adjunct.
Shortness of breath, or dyspnea, results from air hunger, a sensation that you’re not getting enough air. Here’s how to spot a patient with increased work of breathing, an important assessment for an EMS provider evaluating a patient with dyspnea.
By Dennis Edgerly, EMT-P | Paramedic Education Coordinator
As you enter the house your patient looks at you anxiously. He’s sitting upright, leaning forward. You note circumoral cyanosis and obvious respiratory distress as he attempts to speak. As you approach, you place him on oxygen with no relief. Upon auscultation of his chest, you note wheezing throughout his lung fields. You and your partner begin to administer a common bronchodilator albuterol when you remember — all that wheezes is not asthma.
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