Anesthetic induction and endotracheal intubation in the sitting position due to the fixed forearm caught by a meat grinder

Abstract

A male patient was scheduled for urgent amputation of his right forearm. His right forearm was stuck inside the insertion slot of a meat grinder, resulting in severe pain to his injured arm. His upper body could not move to sit in a semi-upright position. An endotracheal tube was successfully placed after rapid sequence intubation using a video laryngoscope from behind the patient on the first attempt. This case report is the first documentation of successful anesthetic induction with subsequent endotracheal intubation using a video laryngoscope from behind an injured patient whose upper body was upright with limited positioning.

Keywords

• Anesthesia
• Sitting position
• Tracheal intubation
• Video laryngoscope