Which statement about head position during BVM is most accurate?

Which statement about head position during BVM is most accurate?

• A. Maintain proper head position to open airway
• B. Hyperextend neck aggressively
• C. Keep head neutral with neck flexion
• D. Use excessive flexion to improve seal

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is that airway patency and a good mask seal during bag-valve-mask ventilation depend on keeping the head in a position that opens the airway. A neutral to slightly extended head (often described as the sniffing position) aligns the oral, pharyngeal, and laryngeal axes so the tongue doesn’t fall back and block airflow, making ventilation easier and the seal more reliable. Aggressively extending the neck can worsen airway obstruction in many patients and risks cervical spine injury. Curling the neck into flexion or using excessive flexion also narrows the airway and makes it harder to ventilate while degrading the mask seal. So maintaining the proper head position to keep the airway open is the best approach. If there’s suspected spinal injury, you’d keep the head in a neutral position with inline stabilization and still aim to open the airway with minimal movement, balancing airway patency with spinal safety.

The main idea here is that airway patency and a good mask seal during bag-valve-mask ventilation depend on keeping the head in a position that opens the airway. A neutral to slightly extended head (often described as the sniffing position) aligns the oral, pharyngeal, and laryngeal axes so the tongue doesn’t fall back and block airflow, making ventilation easier and the seal more reliable.

Aggressively extending the neck can worsen airway obstruction in many patients and risks cervical spine injury. Curling the neck into flexion or using excessive flexion also narrows the airway and makes it harder to ventilate while degrading the mask seal. So maintaining the proper head position to keep the airway open is the best approach.

If there’s suspected spinal injury, you’d keep the head in a neutral position with inline stabilization and still aim to open the airway with minimal movement, balancing airway patency with spinal safety.