What is the most common cause of airway obstruction in an unconscious patient?

• A. Foreign body
• B. Tongue
• C. Edema
• D. Laryngospasm

Answer: (B)

When someone is unconscious, the muscles that normally keep the airway open relax, and the tongue tends to fall backward into the pharynx. This soft-tissue displacement is the most frequent reason the airway becomes blocked, because the tongue obstructs the normal flow of air as it sits against the back of the throat. That is why airway management focuses on keeping the tongue away from the posterior pharynx—techniques like the jaw-thrust or chin-lift move the tongue forward and open the airway.

Other potential causes like a foreign body, edema, or laryngospasm can certainly block the airway, but they are less common in an unconscious patient. Foreign bodies are a discrete object that doesn’t always present in an unconscious scenario, edema often develops with inflammation or trauma over time, and laryngospasm is more typical in anesthesia or irritation contexts rather than a straightforward unconscious airway obstruction.