jaw thrust
An airway-opening manoeuvre in which the mandible is displaced anteriorly to relieve upper airway obstruction without extending the neck.
Full Definition
The jaw thrust is a manual technique for opening and maintaining a patient's airway during sedation or resuscitation, particularly when cervical spine injury cannot be excluded or when head-tilt/chin-lift is insufficient. In dental anesthesiology, it is a primary response to airway obstruction or apnea encountered during office-based sedation. The clinician places fingers behind the angles of the mandible and applies anterior pressure to lift the jaw and open the pharynx. Editors should use the hyphenated form 'jaw thrust' as a noun and compound modifier ('jaw-thrust manoeuvre') consistent with major anesthesia style guides; some sources write it as two unhyphenated words when used as a noun alone.
Usage
Usage note: Hyphenate 'jaw-thrust' only when used as a compound modifier before a noun ('jaw-thrust manoeuvre'). As a standalone noun, 'jaw thrust' (two words, no hyphen) is standard.
In Context
- "The sedation nurse immediately applied a jaw thrust when the patient's snoring ceased and oxygen saturation began to fall." — Adverse event report
- "Hyphenate 'jaw-thrust manoeuvre' when used as a compound modifier preceding a noun." — House style note