Question

During your assessment of an unconscious, unresponsive 80-year-old female patient, you notice that she has dentures. Your assessment reveals she has an open airway, is breathing on her own at a rate of 12 per minute, is slightly pale, and has a bounding radial pulse. In managing this patient's airway, what would be your most appropriate action?

A. Prepare to insert an oral airway.
B. Perform a jaw thrust as needed.
C. Remove the dentures.
D. Tilt the head to a sniffing position.

Answer 1

The most appropriate action for managing the airway of an unresponsive female patient with dentures is to perform a jaw thrust as needed, since she has an open airway and is breathing on her own with no immediate need for airway interventions such as removable of dentures or endotracheal intubation.

Step-by-step explanation:

In managing the airway of an unconscious, unresponsive 80-year-old female patient with dentures, the most appropriate action, given her current state with an open airway, breathing at 12 per minute, slightly pale skin, and a bounding radial pulse, would be to perform a jaw thrust as needed. Since the patient is breathing on her own and has an open airway, there is no immediate need to remove the dentures as they may be assisting in keeping her airway patent. An oral airway should only be inserted if the patient cannot maintain her own airway, which is not the case here. Moreover, tilting the head into a sniffing position is generally helpful in opening the airway but may not be necessary given the current assessment of the patient's airway status. A precautionary measure would be to prepare for potential airway management interventions, such as the use of endotracheal intubation, in case her condition changes.