Emergency airway management in case of a broken endotracheal tube in situ: A case report

Abstract

We describe the airway management in the case of a completely broken endotracheal tube into two parts in the neurosurgical intensive care unit where a male patient was already intubated and instituted on mechanical ventilation in view of poor Glasgow Coma Scale. We highlight the importance of critical thinking and decision-making in an already compromised airway to prevent hypoxic brain damage in accordance with difficult airway guidelines.

Keywords

• difficult airway management
• emergency airway management
• foreign body
• guidelines