Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2003 Sep;97(3):909-910.
doi: 10.1213/01.ANE.0000076144.94487.BD.

Failure to detect an unusual obstruction in a reinforced endotracheal tube with fiberoptic examination

Matthias Paul  1 , Michael Dueck, Sandra Kampe, Frank Petzke
Affiliations
Case Reports

Failure to detect an unusual obstruction in a reinforced endotracheal tube with fiberoptic examination

Matthias Paul et al. Anesth Analg. 2003 Sep.

Erratum in

  • Anesth Analg. 2004 Jan;98(1):147

Abstract

Obstruction of an endotracheal tube (ETT) is a potentially life-threatening event. We report an unusual obstruction of a reinforced ETT. The valve-like obstruction was caused by a partial detachment of the inner coating from the embedded spiral of the ETT. It led to an increase in inspiratory airway pressure, failure to detect end-expiratory CO(2), and generated a wheezing sound in forced expiration. Fiberoptic inspection, which is a recommended procedure for a suspected ETT-obstruction, failed to identify this detachment. Exchanging the defective ETT immediately resolved the critical clinical situation. The detachment was most likely caused by re-autoclavation of the ETT, which was a specified single-use product.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Szekely SM, Webb RK, Williamson JA, Russell WJ. The Australian Incident Monitoring Study. Problems related to the endotracheal tube: an analysis of 2000 incident reports. Anaesth Intensive Care 1993; 21: 611–6.
    1. Bevacqua BK, Cleary WF. An unusual case of endotracheal tube cuff dysfunction. J Clin Anesth 1993; 5: 237–9.
    1. Ehrenpreis MB, Oliverio RM Jr. Endotracheal tube obstruction secondary to oral preoperative medication. Anesth Analg 1984; 63: 867–8.
    1. Kee WD. An unusual problem with an endotracheal tube. Anaesth Intensive Care 1993; 21: 247–8.
    1. Menon R. An unusual case of tracheal tube obstruction. Anaesthesia 2001; 56: 700–1.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources