What it means
A skill used when a client cannot clear the airway by coughing. Oral suctioning, often with a rigid Yankauer tip, clears the mouth. Deeper suctioning through the nose, an endotracheal tubeen-doh-TRAY-kee-ul toobA flexible plastic tube passed through the mouth or nose into the windpipe to keep the airway open and allow breathing support.endo- withintrache/o windpipe-al relating toFull entry or a tracheostomytray-kee-OS-tuh-meeA surgical opening through the front of the neck into the windpipe, usually holding a tube that the person breathes through.trache/o windpipe-stomy surgical openingFull entry uses a soft sterile catheter. Suction is applied only while the catheter is being pulled out.
For the nurse
Give extra oxygen before deep suctioning, apply suction for no more than 10 to 15 seconds at a time and let the client rest between passes. Use sterile technique for the airway below the throat. Watch oxygen saturation and heart rate, and stop if they drop. Suction only when needed (noisy breathing, visible secretions, falling saturation).
At a glance
| Spanish | aspiración de secreciones |
|---|---|
| Also written | suctioned |
Related terms
secretion
A substance a gland or cell makes and releases, such as mucus, saliva, sweat or a hormone.
airway
The passages that carry air into and out of the lungs, from the nose and mouth to the smallest air tubes.
tracheostomy
A surgical opening through the front of the neck into the windpipe, usually holding a tube that the person breathes through.
sputum
Mucus and other material coughed up from the lungs and lower airways.
endotracheal tube
A flexible plastic tube passed through the mouth or nose into the windpipe to keep the airway open and allow breathing support.