What is the best method to assess airway patency?

The most effective method to assess airway patency involves visual inspection and auscultation. This approach allows the healthcare provider to directly observe the presence of any obstruction or abnormality in the airway, such as swelling, foreign bodies, or secretions that could impede normal airflow.

Auscultation involves listening to the sounds produced during respiration, which can provide valuable information about airway condition. For instance, wheezing may suggest bronchospasm or obstruction, while stridor can indicate upper airway obstruction. Together, visual inspection and auscultation give a comprehensive view of the state of the airway and help identify issues that could compromise patency, ultimately guiding any necessary interventions.

While palpation and visual inspection may provide some initial information about the airway, they do not offer as comprehensive an assessment as the combination of visual inspection and auscultation. SpO2 monitoring measures oxygen saturation but does not directly evaluate airway patency. Blood gas analysis provides data on respiratory function and gas exchange but is not a primary tool for assessing the physical condition of the airway itself. Therefore, the combination of visual inspection and auscultation is indeed the best method for evaluating airway patency.