• • To ventilate and oxygenate a patient.

  • A ventilation face mask may be used with an oropharyngeal or nasopharyngeal airway during spontaneous, assisted, or controlled ventilation.

Relative

• • In patients with full stomach, cricoid pressure must be maintained to avoid vomiting and aspiration.

• • Ventilation bags (manual resuscitator) come in 2 types: self-inflating bag and flow-inflating (“anesthesia”) bag.

  • Ventilation bags used for resuscitation should be self-inflating.

  • Ventilation bags come in different sizes: infant, child, and adult.

  • Face masks come in many sizes.

  • A ventilation mask consists of a rubber or plastic body, a standard connecting port, and a rim or face seal.

  • Supplemental oxygen can be attached to ventilation bags to provide oxygen to the patient.

• • Vomiting and aspiration.

• • Bag-mask ventilation gives the clinician time to prepare for more definitive airway management.

  • Good technique involves preserving good mask-face seal, inflating the chest with minimal required pressure, and maintaining the optimal patency of the upper airway through manipulation of the mandible and cervical spine.

  • The clinician should only use the force and tidal volume necessary to cause the chest to rise visibly.

  • The mask should extend from the bridge of the nose to the cleft of the chin, enveloping the nose and mouth but avoiding compression of the eyes.

  • The mask should provide an airtight seal.

  • The goal of ventilation with a bag and mask should be to approximate normal ventilation.

• • Sedation may be required before beginning.