An Excerpt from the course on Ventilation

Airway management algorithms provide a preplanned approach to airway management.  They ensure providing the best patient care possible to a patient who initially cannot be ventilated or whose airway cannot be secured.  An algorithm provides a specific planned set of actions and decisions where the “if this––then that” decisions are made in advance.  This prevents inaction, wrong action, and panic.

In every patient encounter, a paramedic applies a group of patient care activities based on a presumptive conclusion or working diagnosis.  This is mostly based on a previously planned and documented protocol.  Apart from some specific order details, the actual order in which they are carried out does not affect the patient outcomes. However, the Paramedic will perform all the care specified in the protocol.

In certain emergencies (e.g., cardiac arrest with ventricular fibrillation), specific tasks must be carried out the same way, in the same order, in a minimal time period. Furthermore, the care must be modified based on the patient’s response to the interventions. In these cases, algorithms are applied, primarily as “if-then” branch points.

Although the use of algorithms can greatly facilitate airway management, it is important to remember that they are written for the majority of situations and that algorithms are not “one size fits all.