Skip to content
Free NREMT practice questionsFree AEMT practice questions · Airway, Respiration & Ventilation

10 free AEMT practice questions: Suctioning and Airway Clearance

These are real questions from the same bank the app draws from. Each one is written to the NREMT AEMT content specifications and kept inside the AEMT scope of practice. Pick an answer and you get the full rationale, including why the other three options are wrong.

Work through all 10, then move on to the next topic. When you want the full picture, the free AEMT diagnostic covers every topic in one sitting. No account needed for any of it.

Question 1 of 10

An AEMT opens the airway of a 53-year-old patient who is unresponsive on a bathroom floor and hears coarse gurgling with every breath. An oropharyngeal airway, a BVM on high-concentration oxygen, and a working suction unit are all at the head of the cot. What does the AEMT do first?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · Clear the airway with suction before anything else goes in

Coarse gurgling means there is liquid sitting in the airway, and suction is how you remove liquid. Anything you put into the airway first has to pass through that fluid. An oral airway gets seated in the fluid. A breath from the BVM pushes vomit or blood down into the lungs. Suction first. Then listen to the airway again and choose your adjunct. The order is position, suction, adjunct, ventilate, oxygenate. If you skip suction, the adjunct and the breaths both go through fluid.

Why the others are wrong

Insert the oropharyngeal airway and suction around it: An oropharyngeal airway is right for a patient with no gag reflex, and holding the tongue forward makes later suctioning easier. The oral airway does not remove the fluid already in the mouth. You would be seating the device in a pool of fluid and then bagging through the fluid.

Begin BVM ventilation and watch for chest rise: This patient does need oxygen, and the BVM is right there. Positive pressure into a mouth full of fluid pushes the fluid toward the lungs. Aspiration is the exact injury you are trying to prevent.

Roll the patient onto the side and reassess the sound: Rolling the patient onto the side lets fluid drain, and rolling helps when there is more fluid than suction can keep up with. A working suction unit is already at the head of the cot, and suction is faster. Gravity alone will not clear fluid that has already reached the back of the throat.

Question 2 of 10

An AEMT is about to pass a rigid catheter into the mouth of a 46-year-old patient who is unresponsive with blood pooling in the oropharynx after a dental extraction. The catheter has already been measured. Why is the vacuum left off while the catheter goes in?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · Suctioning on the way in removes oxygen and clears nothing

Suctioning on the way in only pulls oxygen out of the airway. While the rigid suction catheter goes in, the tip is moving through air. The blood is not touching the tip yet, so there is nothing for the suction to clear. All the vacuum does is take oxygen from a patient who is not breathing well. The blood is in contact with the tip on the way out. That's why you turn the suction on as you pull the suction catheter back, moving the tip in a circular motion. Keep the suction off while the suction catheter goes in.

Why the others are wrong

Suctioning on the way in drives material toward the larynx: Pushing material deeper into the airway is a real danger, and a blind finger sweep can do that with a solid object. Suction pulls and does not push. Running the vacuum on the way in does not drive blood toward the larynx.

Suctioning on the way in makes the rigid catheter collapse: Collapsing under vacuum is a problem with a soft flexible catheter. A rigid catheter does not collapse. That's why you switch to a rigid tip when the material is thick.

Suctioning on the way in makes the measured depth hard to judge: Depth does matter. A tip past the base of the tongue can cause gagging and a vagal response. You control the depth by measuring against the face before you go in. Turning the vacuum on or off does not change how deep the tip sits.

Question 3 of 10

An AEMT is suctioning vomit from the oropharynx of a 10-year-old patient who is unresponsive after a bicycle crash. Ten seconds into the attempt the oropharynx still holds a large volume of vomit. What does the AEMT do?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · Withdraw the catheter, ventilate with oxygen, then suction again

This child is at the 10 second suction limit, and the mouth still has a lot of vomit in it. That happens often, and it is not a mistake. The time limit is not a promise that the mouth will be clean. The time limit is a cap on how long the patient goes without breathing. At 10 seconds, this child needs oxygen. Pull the suction catheter out, ventilate with oxygen, then go back in for another pass. Repeat that cycle as many times as it takes. The cycle is the same at every age, and a child gets 10 seconds per pass.

Why the others are wrong

Continue the pass until the oropharynx is finally clear: A mouth that is still half full of vomit sounds bad enough to keep going. Every extra second of suction is another second without oxygen. A child has less oxygen in reserve than an adult. The saturation drops first, and then the heart rate drops.

Withdraw the catheter and insert an oropharyngeal airway: An oropharyngeal airway does belong in this patient later, because the vomiting shows the airway is not protected. Putting one in now sets the oropharyngeal airway on top of vomit you have not cleared. The oropharyngeal airway also does nothing about the oxygen the child just lost.

Switch to a soft catheter and continue the same attempt: Switching tools does fix some suction problems. A soft catheter handles thick vomit worse than a rigid one. Staying in for the same attempt also ignores that the 10 seconds are already up.

Question 4 of 10

A 27-year-old patient is awake and confused after an assault, with a split lip bleeding steadily and blood pooling at the back of the mouth. How far does the AEMT advance the rigid catheter?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · Only as far as the tip can be seen

This patient is awake, so you only advance the rigid suction catheter as far as you can see the tip. An awake patient still has a gag reflex. If the tip touches the back of the throat, the patient can vomit. Now you have vomit and blood in the mouth of a patient who is fighting you. Use this rule on any patient who is conscious or semiconscious. Suction only the part of the mouth you can see, and take the blood that is visible. Save the full measured depth for a patient with no gag reflex.

Why the others are wrong

To the base of the tongue on every pass: The base of the tongue is the landmark your measurement is built around. The base of the tongue is also where the gag reflex is. In a patient who is awake, that is the depth you stay away from.

Until the patient coughs, then no further: A cough does tell you the tip went too far. By the time the patient coughs, you have already set off the gag reflex. Vomiting often comes next.

To the full depth measured at the earlobe: The full depth measured at the earlobe is right for an unresponsive patient with no gag reflex. This patient is awake and confused, and still has a gag reflex.

Question 5 of 10

An AEMT is checking the portable suction unit at the start of a shift. The tubing is clamped and the gauge is read. Which reading shows the unit is working?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · At least 300 mmHg of vacuum

With the tubing clamped, a working suction unit reads at least 300 mmHg of vacuum on the gauge. The 300 mmHg tells you how hard the unit pulls. With the tubing unclamped, the unit should also move at least 30 L per minute of free flow. The 30 L per minute tells you how much the unit moves. A unit can pass one check and fail the other. A unit with good vacuum and poor flow clears a mouth full of vomit very slowly. Check both at the start of the shift, before the call where you need the unit.

Why the others are wrong

At least 30 mmHg of vacuum: The number 30 does belong to a suction unit check. Thirty is the free flow number, measured in liters per minute with the tubing open. A unit pulling only 30 mmHg of vacuum would barely move saliva.

At least 120 mmHg of vacuum: 120 mmHg is the kind of number you read off a monitor all shift. That number has nothing to do with this check. A suction unit that stops at 120 mmHg will not clear thick material.

At least 760 mmHg of vacuum: 760 mmHg is atmospheric pressure at sea level. A portable suction unit is not built to pull a full vacuum. The number to check for is 300 mmHg.

Question 6 of 10

An AEMT is caring for a 23-year-old patient who is 36 weeks pregnant and has been vomiting since a syncopal episode, with secretions now pooling in the oropharynx. A working suction unit and a BVM on high-concentration oxygen are both at hand. What does the AEMT do before the catheter goes in?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · Preoxygenate, since pregnancy shortens the time before desaturation

Preoxygenate this patient before the catheter goes in. The patient is 36 weeks pregnant, and pregnancy shortens the time before oxygen levels drop. The uterus pushes the diaphragm up and lowers the functional residual capacity. That leaves a smaller reserve of air to get through a suction pass than the patient's size would suggest. Preoxygenation before airway work is a requirement for this patient. Pregnancy changes what you do before the pass. The time limit is still 15 seconds for an adult, and the vacuum setting stays the same.

Why the others are wrong

Shorten the attempt to 10 seconds to match the reduced reserve: Shortening the time looks like a direct way to protect a patient with less reserve. Suction time limits are set by age, not by reserve. Cutting your own working time means more passes and more total apnea.

Turn the vacuum down so less oxygen is pulled from the airway: Gentle technique is often right in airway work, and turning the vacuum down sounds gentler. Vacuum is not changed at any age. A weaker pull on pooled vomit only keeps the catheter in the mouth longer.

Extend the head further back to open a straighter path: Opening the airway before you suction is a real step, and head position does matter. Tilting the head back past neutral does not add any reserve. The vomit pooling in the oropharynx is still there.

Question 7 of 10

An AEMT and a partner have been ventilating a 37-year-old patient who is unresponsive and apneic after being pulled from a backyard pool. The upper abdomen has become visibly rounded and firm, and the patient has just vomited a large volume around the mask. What does the AEMT do first?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · Clear the airway with suction before delivering another breath

This patient has gastric distention and has just vomited around the mask. The upper abdomen is rounded and firm because the ventilations have forced air into the stomach. Air in the stomach pushes the diaphragm up. The bag gets stiffer, you squeeze harder, and the stomach finally empties into a mouth with nothing protecting it. Once vomit is in the airway, you start over at the beginning of the airway steps. Suction first, then the adjunct, then the breath. Smaller, slower breaths fix the cause of the distention. Make that fix after the airway is clean. Even a small, slow breath through vomit pushes the vomit toward the lungs.

Why the others are wrong

Insert an oropharyngeal airway to hold the vomit off the tongue: An oral airway belongs in a patient with no gag reflex, and it makes repeat suctioning easier. Placed into a mouth full of vomit, the oral airway just sits in the vomit and moves none of it out.

Resume ventilation with smaller breaths delivered more slowly: Smaller breaths delivered more slowly are the right fix for the distention that caused the vomiting. Any breath through vomit pushes the vomit toward the lungs. The slower breaths have to wait until the mouth is clear.

Place a supraglottic airway to seal the airway below the vomit: A supraglottic airway does seal the hypopharynx, so sealing off the vomit sounds like it would work. A supraglottic airway never separates the trachea from the esophagus. Placed into vomit, the device traps the fluid below the cuff, where positive pressure pushes the fluid down.

Question 8 of 10

A newborn delivers through thick greenish amniotic fluid and is limp with a weak respiratory effort at 20 seconds of life. What does the AEMT do?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · Warm, dry and stimulate, then ventilate if the effort stays weak

This newborn is not vigorous. The newborn is limp with a weak breathing effort at 20 seconds of life. The thick, greenish fluid is meconium stained, and meconium no longer changes the steps. A vigorous newborn born through meconium gets routine care. A newborn who is not vigorous gets the standard first steps: warm, dry, and stimulate. If the breathing effort stays weak, start positive pressure ventilation. Tracheal suctioning of a meconium stained newborn is not done, no matter how vigorous the newborn is. The guidance changed because stopping for a meconium procedure delayed ventilation. A limp newborn needs air moving into the lungs, and every second spent on a meconium procedure is a second without ventilation.

Why the others are wrong

Suction the trachea before any ventilation is attempted: Suctioning the trachea before ventilating was taught for years, and it can still sound like the safe move when the fluid is that thick. Tracheal suctioning is no longer done at any level of vigor. Stopping to suction the trachea delays the ventilation a limp newborn needs.

Clear the mouth and nose with a bulb syringe before drying: A bulb syringe is the right suction tool for a newborn, and the mouth before the nose is the right order. Routine suctioning is no longer taught. Suction belongs here only if secretions are actually blocking the airway.

Begin chest compressions and reassess the heart rate at 30 seconds: Compressions do have a place in newborn resuscitation. Compressions start after 30 seconds of effective ventilation with a heart rate still under 60. This newborn has not been ventilated yet, so ventilation comes first.

Question 9 of 10

An AEMT finds an 88-year-old patient unresponsive in a recliner, breathing 14 times a minute with a coarse snoring sound and no fluid visible in the mouth. A partner reaches for the rigid catheter. What does the AEMT do?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · Reposition the head and lift the jaw, since snoring is the tongue

This patient has snoring respirations and no fluid in the mouth. Snoring is the tongue falling back and blocking the upper airway. The fix for snoring is opening the airway by hand. Reposition the head and lift the jaw, then place an airway adjunct. Gurgling is fluid, and fluid gets suctioned. A solid object gets a log roll and removal of what you can see. Matching the sound to the fix keeps you from suctioning a mouth with nothing in it. Matching the sound also keeps you from repositioning a patient whose airway is full of secretions.

Why the others are wrong

Suction the oropharynx first, since the sound comes from the airway: Suction is the fix for gurgling. This patient is snoring, and there is no fluid in the mouth. The suction catheter has nothing to remove, and the pass takes oxygen away for no reason.

Advance a rigid catheter to the base of the tongue and suction there: The base of the tongue is the part making the noise. A suction catheter cannot hold the tongue forward. Touching the base of the tongue with the tip causes gagging and a vagal response.

Place the patient on the side and suction any fluid that drains: Placing a patient on the side does protect a patient who cannot guard the airway. The side position does not lift the tongue off the back of the throat. The problem here is the tongue blocking the airway, and there is nothing to drain.

Question 10 of 10

An AEMT is about to suction a large volume of thick sputum from the mouth of an 85-year-old patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who is unresponsive with a saturation of 84 percent. The patient is on a nasal cannula at 2 L per minute, and a partner says the oxygen should stay low to protect the drive to breathe. What does the AEMT do?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · Ventilate with high-concentration oxygen, then suction the mouth

Ventilate this patient with high-concentration oxygen first, then suction the mouth. This patient is unresponsive with an SpO₂ of 84%. Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are titrated toward their own baseline. When you do not know the baseline, 88 to 92 percent is the target you use. An SpO₂ of 84% is below that range, not near it. Titration says to give more oxygen, not less. Never withhold oxygen from a hypoxic patient. The drive to breathe theory your partner is quoting is not correct, and you should not act on it. During a suction pass, the patient gets no oxygen. Get the oxygen in before the catheter goes in, not after.

Why the others are wrong

Suction the mouth first, then leave the cannula where it is set: Getting the sputum out matters, and suction is why you went to the mouth in the first place. Suctioning first starts a pass with no oxygen in a patient already at 84%. Leaving the cannula at 2 L afterward keeps the patient in the hypoxia that the suction pass just made worse.

Leave the cannula at 2 L, since the saturation is near the target: Titrating toward a target range is correct for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The range is 88 to 92 percent, and this patient is at 84. Titrating toward 88 to 92 percent means turning the oxygen up.

Suction in passes of 5 seconds to keep the apneic time short: Keeping each pass short is a good habit, and short passes do lower the time without oxygen. Five seconds is the limit for an infant, not an adult. A shorter pass does not replace the oxygen that should have gone in first.

Find out which AEMT topics are costing you points

Ten questions on one topic tell you about that topic. The free diagnostic covers every AEMT topic and breaks your results down by topic, so you know what to drill next. No card, no signup to try it.

Take the free AEMT diagnostic

More free AEMT practice questions by topic