The aim of this article was to review the available literature about airway opening manoeuvres in newborn infants. We reviewed books, resuscitation manuals and articles from 1860 to the present with the search terms 鈥淚nfant, Newborn鈥? 鈥渁irway management鈥? 鈥渁irway manoeuvres鈥? 鈥渃hin lift鈥? 鈥渏aw thrust鈥? 鈥渘eutral position鈥? 鈥渟houlder roll鈥? 鈥渘eonatal resuscitation鈥? 鈥減ositive pressure respiration鈥?and 鈥渃ontinuous positive airway pressure鈥? Only human studies were included.
During mask PPV, jaw thrust appears to be more effective in achieving a patent upper airway and might help to reduce airway obstruction. The additional application of chin lift might reduce leak during mask ventilation. However given the lack of available data these conclusions remains speculative and further research in this area is required.