Trauma and Emergency Medicine

Face mask ventilation is the cornerstone of basic airway management but is not easy to master. Ventilation of a patient using a face mask may be required when there is inadequate ventilation, either due to inadequate respiratory effort or due to airway obstruction. The conventional face mask is the oldest airway management device in use since 1847, when it was introduced by the British physician John Snow to administer inhalational anesthesia.

It is my hope that the title of this commentary makes you curious—why is it important as a professional in an emergency medicine setting to know about such a difficult and aversive topic? You might be asking: haven’t we as a society been inundated enough with disclosures and information about other forms of sexual abuse and sexploitation, perpetrated by celebrities, clergy, teachers, military colleagues, and sometimes by relatives? Haven’t we had enough and why do we need to know more?