|  | Healthcare Industry | Hospitals

What Are Suction Catheters?

Suction catheters are medical devices used to remove secretions, such as spit or saliva and mucus from the upper airway including the nose, mouth and trachea or wind pipe. You remove these fluids with a suction catheter so the patient does not aspirate, or breathe in, these secretions which can cause coughing and lung tissue damage.

  1. Yankauer

    • The Yankauer, developed by Dr. Charles Yankauer in the early 1900s, is a plastic device, that when attached to a suction canister with appropriate suction, suctions or removes oral secretions from the oropharynx. This wand-like device is approximately 10 to 12 inches long with a bulbous head and a flared handle. This device enables you to suction out the patient's mouth without causing damage to the tongue and surrounding tissue.

    Suction Catheter

    • Available in a sterile, individually packaged container, or in a kit containing sterile gloves and a pop-up sterile solution cup used for sterile saline, suction cathers come in a variety of lumen sizes. Respiratory therapists, nurses and physicians use suction catheters in the field of respiratory care. When connecting to a suction device, you will place the catheter into a tracheostomy tube, endotracheal tube or directly in the oral cavity to remove secretions.

    DeLee Tip

    • Similar to a standard suction catheter, the DeLee catheter removes secretions from an endotracheal tube, tracheostomy tube, as well as the oropharyngeal cavity. The DeLee tip has staggered small openings, which minimizes airway trauma. This product is latex-free, sterile, and has a vacuum control valve at one end to provide intermittent suction.

    Suction System

    • All suction catheters connect to a OptiVac or similar disposable collection canister and vacuum system. Attach one end of a 4-, 6- or 8-foot piece of tubing to one end of the catheter and attach the other end of the tubing to the canister lid. Adjust the vacuum system to an appropriate setting. When this canister is full, secure the top and place it into a red bio-hazard bag for disposal.

Hospitals - Related Articles