To open the airway of a victim you think has a spinal injury, use the:

• A. Jaw thrust
• B. Head tilt
• C. Chin lift
• D. Mouth-to-mouth

Answer: (D)

In a suspected spinal injury, you protect the neck while you open the airway. The safest way to do this is the jaw thrust maneuver: place your hands on the sides of the victim’s jaw and lift the jaw forward (without tilting the head back). This action moves the tongue away from the back of the throat and clears the airway while keeping the head and neck in a neutral position, reducing the risk of further cervical spine injury.

Head tilt and chin lift require tilting the head back and lifting the chin, which can straighten or bend the neck and potentially worsen a spinal injury. Mouth-to-mouth ventilation, on the other hand, is a ventilation method used after the airway is opened; it doesn’t itself open the airway and isn’t the maneuver chosen to safely establish an open airway in someone with suspected spinal injury.