Medical Use
There are many pillows or head and neck positioners developed for use in medical circumstances. Historically, hospital personnel have used folded towels, blankets, or at best, neutral position foam or gel pillows to support or cradle the patient's head during an operation or procedure. Although A neutral cervical spine positioner confers better airway patency than a traditional pillow and, although with experience and time, any one trained in the management of airways should be able to configure towels and blankets to place the patient’s head and neck into a quasi-sniff position, the PopitzPillow consistently places a patient into either the sniff position or the sniff-ramp position. The sniff-ramp position is similar to the sniff but also has a wedge shaped support beneath the upper torso and shoulders. This sniff-ramped position permits slightly more extension of the cervical spine.
Most professionals involved in airway management do not take the time to properly position their patient's head and neck to facilitate airway management until they have difficulty.
The sniff position is the worldwide gold standard for head and neck positioning for airway management in the patient with a stable cervical spine. Why use any other position?
It has long been determined that the Sniff Position, or Sniff the Morning Air Position, is the gold standard of positions for obtaining the best laryngoscopic view of the human glottis. The PopitzPillow is the only device patented and FDA approved specifically for placing the patient's head in the Sniff Position.
By placing the patients' head and neck on the PopitzPillow, one permits both a comfortable change in the alignment of the airway axes as well as an augmentation in the luminal diameter of the airway that is not obtained in any other position of the head and neck.
The conformation and density of the materials used, allow the PopitzPillows to maintain this sniff position, even when the patient is sedated, deeply naturally sleeping and or under a general anesthetic. These anatomic changes that occur in the sniff position permit one to get the maximal possible line of view (LOV) of the glottis with laryngoscopy, ease of placement of any airway device such as an LMA, or ventilation with positive pressure and a mask. The sniff position is also the perfect as well as the best position for maintaining the most patent airway possible when using minimal, moderate or deep sedation. The sniff-ramp position, by elevating the patient's shoulders, permits even more cervical spine extension than the simple sniff position. It is helpful for certain surgical procedures, as well as being very useful for airway management in heavier or bariatric patients, or patients with short, thick necks.
Medical Airway Division Pillow Models
Who Uses The Pillow
Active Airway Management: The sniff position is the "gold standard" for positioning patients for laryngoscopy, placement of laryngeal mask airways, and mask ventilating patients. Therefore, it is ideal to have the PopitzPillows stocked in:
-
Operating Rooms
-
Emergency Departments
-
Code or Crash Carts --- it should be standard with the airway instruments
-
Procedural Suites, such as Invasive Radiology, MRI or CAT Scan Units, Endoscopy Units, Surgicenters, medical office suites
-
Ambulances and Air-ambulances
-
Office based surgery locations
-
Any location where CPR/ACLS might be required!
-
Airlines and travel organizations, hotels, large businesses, convention centers and military organizations
-
Even mouth-to-mouth breathing
Passive Airway Management: The PopitzPillow is ideal for use in situations where the patient is too ill to maintain their airway or during procedural sedation, to aid the caregiver in maintaining an unobstructed airway. Similarly, it is invaluable during cases where regional anesthesia is being used. It affords the anesthesia personnel a comfortable patient with a patent airway. The PopitzPillows should be used by physicians and nurses everywhere where there might be a concern for patient safety and comfort. The PopitzPillows are also FDA approved for over the counter sales for mild Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Snoring. As they permit optimal airway patency for airway management, so do they for sleep disordered breathing.
Lateral Sniff Position Pillow
Up until now, all the models available for home and medical use have been pillows designed for the supine position, or where the user is lying flat on their back.
Now, for lateral position surgery or procedures as well as for those who prefer to sleep on their side, the Lateral Sniff Position PopitzPillow will soon be available. Most people with snoring and obstructive sleep apnea, both part of sleep-disordered breathing, prefer to sleep on their side, and so this pillow was created with this in mind. It still incorporates the sniff position and maintains this position even when one is deeply asleep, maintaining the maximal airway opening that each individual's airway can have. All sleep disordered breathing is multifactorial and as such no single device can possibly cure all those with this very common problem.
However this pillow is different than all other side position pillows. It is now understood that a large percentage of patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea have Positional Obstructive Sleep Apnea, or POSA.
Very importantly, this side position pillow is extremely comfortable and is a great choice for all sleepers as we all could benefit from breathing more easily. The one caveat is that people with neck problems should not use a sniff position pillow if it gives them any discomfort.
For use by the hospital Rapid Response Team together with end-tidal CO2 monitoring, all patients with unexpected clinical deterioration should be placed on a PopitzPillow to improve their airway, increase oxygenation and ventilation. It also places the patient in the proper position for further airway management if necessary.
Along the same vein, any patient with post-operative respiratory depression, and patients with known or suspected Obstructive Sleep Apnea or Drug induced Respiratory Depression. These patients should all be placed upon a PopitzPillow.
Call 617-435-1016 for any questions regarding the Lateral Sniff Position Pillow. It should be available by the end of this year!!