Oral Pharyngeal Airways (OPA)

• Provide airway patency by displacing the tongue from the posterior pharyngeal wall (Figure 9.11)
• Sizing
  • Many systems are color coded
  • Sizing is typically in millimeters
  • Length is estimated by measuring from the commissure of the mouth to the angle of the mandible
• Uses
  • Only use with deeply sedated or unconscious patients
  • Not tolerated in conscious/semiconscious patients
  • Beneficial for mask ventilation prior to intubation, especially in edentulous patients
  • Requires moderate mouth opening
• Complications
  • Coughing
  • Bronchospasm
  • Gagging
  • Emesis
  • Laryngospasm
• Techniques
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