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Acute fatal haemorrhage during percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy
D Shlugman1, R Satya-Krishna, L Loh
1Neuro-intensive Care Unit, Radcliffe Infirmary, Woodstock Road, Oxford OX2 6HE, UK. david.shlugman@orh.nhs.uk
British Journal of Anaesthesia
|March 20, 2003
Abstract:
Percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy (PDT) is associated with a number of life-threatening complications. We present a case of massive and fatal arterial haemorrhage that occurred in the intensive care unit during an elective PDT on an 86-year-old woman following earlier evacuation of a traumatic subdural haematoma. An avulsed right subclavian artery was found at post mortem. Previous thyroid surgery and aberrant arterial anatomy contributed to the fatal outcome.