Case series: Tension pneumothorax complicating narrow-bore enteral feeding tube placement

Frequently, narrow-bore feeding tubes are placed in critically ill hospitalized patients without difficulty. However, due to the simplicity and relative ease of bedside placement of feeding tubes, complications, including life threatening, are often minimized. We report 3 cases of severe pleuropulmo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of intensive care medicine Vol. 25; no. 5; p. 281
Main Authors Freeberg, Sheldon Y, Carrigan, Thomas P, Culver, Daniel A, Guzman, Jorge A
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.09.2010
Subjects
Aged, 80 and over
Critical Care
Enteral Nutrition - adverse effects
Enteral Nutrition - instrumentation
Female
Gastrointestinal Tract - diagnostic imaging
Humans
Intubation, Gastrointestinal - adverse effects
Intubation, Gastrointestinal - methods
Lung - diagnostic imaging
Male
Middle Aged
Pneumothorax - diagnostic imaging
Pneumothorax - etiology
Radiography
Ultrasonography, Interventional
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Summary:Frequently, narrow-bore feeding tubes are placed in critically ill hospitalized patients without difficulty. However, due to the simplicity and relative ease of bedside placement of feeding tubes, complications, including life threatening, are often minimized. We report 3 cases of severe pleuropulmonary complications after routine bedside placement of a narrow-bore enteral feeding tubes and a review of the literature. These episodes have not only prompted our adoption of a new policy specifying the routine use of ultrasound to guide feeding tube placement in obtunded or mechanically ventilated patients but also offer recommendations post-removal of misplaced feeding tubes.
ISSN:1525-1489
DOI:10.1177/0885066610371185