airway management is the process of maintaining ventilation in a patient by using an artificial
airway this ensures that gas exchange can occur by establishing a link between the patient and the
ventilator which is important because we need to make sure that the patient's upper airway
is free and clear of foreign substances so the air can flow into and out of the lungs this is an
important topic for respiratory therapy students which is why we created this video to help by
breaking down a sample tmc practice question on this topic so if you're ready let's get into it
a 61 year old female patient was just intubated and is now receiving ventilatory support
via an oral endotracheal tube you recommended a chest radiograph in order to confirm proper
placement of the tube where should the tip of the tube be positioned
a not more than two centimeters above the carina be at the same level as the carina
c level with the fifth cervical vertebrae or d between the second and fourth thoracic vertebrae
do you know the answer let's break it down first and foremost you absolutely must
know the proper position of an endotracheal tube for the tmc exam because you will see
questions about it just know that there are a few ways to confirm proper placement that you should
be familiar with when looking at a chest x-ray a properly positioned et tube should appear about
1.5 inches above the carina which to be more specific is about four to six centimeters this
means that the tip of the tube will sit between the second and fourth thoracic vertebrae on the
x-ray another quick and general reference to look at is this the tube should be inserted about 21
to 24 centimeters at the patient's lip which you can verify by looking at the markings on the tube
so by looking at the answer choices we can quickly see that only one option shows that the tube is in
the correct place which means that the correct answer has to be d between the second and fourth
thoracic vertebrae real quick guys do me a huge favor and hit the like button again it really
helps support the channel and i greatly greatly appreciate it and while you're down there go ahead
and click the subscribe button as well because we have a ton of other videos on our channel that i
think you will enjoy well what'd you think about these practice questions was it helpful breaking
them down in a simplified way i hope so and as i always say definitely try to go through as many
of these as possible when preparing for the tmc exam even if you don't use our practice questions
this is still a strategy that i recommend for all students however if you do want to get access to
all of our premium practice questions definitely consider checking out our tmc test bank you can
still take advantage of the temporary promotion that's going on by using the special link below
also if you want to get these practice questions and explanations sent straight to your inbox on
a daily basis you can consider signing up for our practice questions pro membership
which costs less than one of those fancy cups of coffee that all the kids are drinking these days
it's truly never been easier all you have to do is sign up and we'll send the practice questions
to your email address each and every day small tidbits of knowledge over time can add up to huge
results i'll drop a link to that as well right below this video down in the description thank you
so much for watching all the way to the end have a blessed day and as always real easy my friend
you