Nasopharyngeal airway placement in a child

Insertion of a nasopharyngeal airway. Choose the NPA with a bore that is close to the size of the nares but passes easily into the nasopharynx. The airway can be sized properly by placing it adjacent to the child's face. The correct size will match the distance from the tragus of the ear to the nostril (A). After insertion, the tip of the airway should be positioned in the supraglottic region (B). Other proposed methods of estimating the correct length (not shown) include nostril to mandible and nostril to tragus minus 10 mm (for more, refer to UpToDate content on basic airway management in children).