Nasopharyngeal/Oropharyngeal Suctioning

1. A nurse should always try and perform tracheal suctioning first before pharyngeal suctioning whenever it is possible.
2. Suctioning a patient’s airway who has head trauma is dangerous because it causes elevation of intracranial pressure in the patient.
3. Normal saline should not be inserted into the airway before suctioning a patient because it is not effective in thinning the secretions or improving removal.
4. A patient with COPD should not receive an oxygen level of more than 2 L/min, unless told otherwise by the physician.
5. You will need to gather an appropriate-size suction catheter (smallest diameter that removes secretions effectively) or Yankauer catheter for oral suction, nasal or oral airway (if indicated), two sterile gloves (open suction) or clean gloves (closed or oropharyngeal suction), clean towel or paper drape, portable or wall suction as vacuum source, mask, goggles, or face shield, connecting tube (6 feet) and collection bottle, oxygen source and/or manual resuscitation bag equipped with oxygen-enrichment device, pulse oximeter, and stethoscope. If you’re not using a closed-suction catheter you will also need a water-soluble lubricant, small Y adapter if catheter does not have a suction port, sterile basin and sterile normal saline solution or water (about 100 mL).
6. The wall suction should be set at 80-120 mm Hg when suctioning a patients airway
7. Airway suctioning is a sterile procedure because you need to prevent the