Since the COVID-19 outbreak, many people have experienced the discomfort that comes with a probe inserted deep into their naso-pharynx, but it pales compared to the discomfort of having your airways suctioned to clear excess sputum. “The worst part”, physiotherapist Caroling Ludwig suggests, “is the initial introduction of the catheter into the nostrils. Once past the turn at the back of the nose, it was not too unpleasant, until a cough is stimulated; then it feels like hours as the catheter is brought back up… and it felt as if I was choking” (Hough, 2001, p. 92).
Suction catheters are long tubes once made of rubber, but they were often too large for the patient’s airways. They were also difficult to keep sterile, and it was almost impossible to manipulate the smaller sizes. Modern suction catheters are colour coded, single-used PVC tubes that have diameters small enough even for neonates (catheters must always be less than half the diameter of the patient’s airway). But they are still hard to use.
The technique needed to prepare a suction catheter is not unlike learning to drive, and always something of an initiation for young physiotherapists. There are also few experiences more stressful than having to perform suction catheter gymnastics in the early hours of the morning, with a choking patient, gloves that don’t fit your sweating hands, and a catheter that won’t do what you need it to do. But suction, judiciously applied by a skilled operator, is not only a life-saver but a very powerful diagnostic tool.
Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/nursing-and-health-professions/suction-catheter
Description provided by David Nicholls of New Zealand.
References:
Hough, A. 2001. Physiotherapy in Respiratory Care: An evidence-based approach to respiratory and cardiac management (3rd ed.). Nelson Thornes.
