You and Your EMT Partner Are Preparing to Ventilate an Elderly

You and your EMT partner are preparing to ventilate an elderly non-trauma patient who has a stoma.Your partner performs the head-tilt,chin-lift maneuver and you ask him to return the patient's head to a neutral position."Why? This is not a pediatric patient!" your partner protests.What would you say?

A) Elderly patients should never have their heads tilted back because spinal curvatures are common and can prevent airway positioning.
B) It is not necessary to position the airway of a stoma breather when providing ventilations.
C) Stoma breathers should only have their airways positioned after placement of the ventilation device.
D) Using the head-tilt, chin-lift prior to clearing any mucus plugs from the stoma can cause airway occlusion.