Your patient is a young adult male with a gunshot wound to the left side of his head. He is unresponsive with snoring respirations. He is breathing 6 times per minute with a pulse rate of 52 and a blood pressure of 192/104 mmHg. His radial pulse is strong and his skin is cool, but not diaphoretic. In addition to in-line manual stabilization of the cervical spine, the first intervention for this patient would be:

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The patient has snoring respirations indicating a potential airway obstruction. However, inserting an oropharyngeal airway or administering positive pressure ventilation could potentially worsen the obstruction by pushing the tongue back further. High-concentration oxygen via nonrebreather mask would be important for oxygenation, but would not address the potential airway obstruction. Performing a jaw-thrust maneuver would be the appropriate first intervention to open the airway without further compromising it and allow for better oxygenation.

Your Patient Is a Young Adult Male with a Gunshot