Which device is used to provide positive pressure ventilation with a single rescuer?

Which device is used to provide positive pressure ventilation with a single rescuer?

• A. Endotracheal tube
• B. Nasal cannula
• C. Bag-mask device
• D. Simple face mask

Answer: (C)

Providing breaths with a single rescuer is best done using a bag-mask device. This setup combines a self-inflating bag and a face mask, and when you squeeze the bag, you generate positive pressure that pushes air into the patient’s lungs. You can seal the mask with one hand (the C-E grip) while the other hand squeezes the bag, making effective ventilation possible even when you’re alone. Oxygen can be added to the bag to increase the amount of oxygen delivered with each breath, and the one-way valve helps keep exhaled air from refilling the bag. Endotracheal tubes are invasive airways placed into the trachea and require training and time to insert, so they’re not the tool a single rescuer would typically use for immediate ventilation. A nasal cannula only delivers oxygen and does not provide breaths or positive pressure ventilation. A simple face mask without a bag cannot deliver breaths on its own, so it does not provide positive pressure ventilation.

Providing breaths with a single rescuer is best done using a bag-mask device. This setup combines a self-inflating bag and a face mask, and when you squeeze the bag, you generate positive pressure that pushes air into the patient’s lungs. You can seal the mask with one hand (the C-E grip) while the other hand squeezes the bag, making effective ventilation possible even when you’re alone. Oxygen can be added to the bag to increase the amount of oxygen delivered with each breath, and the one-way valve helps keep exhaled air from refilling the bag.

Endotracheal tubes are invasive airways placed into the trachea and require training and time to insert, so they’re not the tool a single rescuer would typically use for immediate ventilation. A nasal cannula only delivers oxygen and does not provide breaths or positive pressure ventilation. A simple face mask without a bag cannot deliver breaths on its own, so it does not provide positive pressure ventilation.