Advanced Emergency Medical Technician (AEMT) Practice Test

You are dispatched for a patient with respiratory distress. Upon your arrival the patient is now unresponsive with sonorous airway sounds. This patient is in immediate need of what type of​ intervention?

1. Positive pressure ventilation

2. Airway control

3. Oxygen therapy

4. MDI administration

The correct answer is: Airway control

In the scenario described, the patient is unresponsive and exhibiting sonorous airway sounds, which are indicative of an obstructed airway, often due to the presence of the tongue or other foreign materials. The primary concern in such a situation is to ensure that the patient's airway is patent (open). Airway control is the immediate priority because an unresponsive patient is unable to maintain their own airway. If the airway is not properly managed, the patient can experience respiratory failure or severe hypoxia quickly. Interventions such as repositioning the head (using the chin lift or jaw thrust maneuver) or employing airway adjuncts like oropharyngeal or nasopharyngeal airways are essential to mitigate the risk of airway obstruction. In contrast, options like positive pressure ventilation, oxygen therapy, and MDI administration would not address the underlying issue of airway obstruction and could lead to ineffective ventilation if the airway is not cleared. Only once the airway has been secured and is maintained can further interventions be considered to support breathing or oxygenation. Therefore, the most critical intervention at this moment is to establish control of the airway to ensure the patient's safety and the effectiveness of any subsequent treatments.