Out of hospital difficult intubation resolved with nasotracheal use of a gum elastic bougie

Abstract

We report the case of a 30 year old man managed in an out of hospital setting for a cardiorespiratory arrest. The patient was impossible to intubate under direct laryngoscopy because of a severe mouth opening limitation associated with a buffalo neck. After failure of direct laryngoscopy and intubating laryngeal mask airway, an Eschmann tracheal tube introducer (gum elastic bougie) was introduced through a nostril. The bougie could be blindly inserted into the trachea, and the patient was intubated using the bougie as a guide. Tracheal intubation was then confirmed using the syringe aspiration test and end tidal carbon dioxide detection.