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Esophageal tear: an unusual complication after difficult endotracheal intubation
Ibtesam A Hilmi1, Erin Sullivan, Joseph Quinlan
1Department of Anesthesiology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Presbyterian Hospital, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Anesthesia and Analgesia
|August 23, 2003
Abstract:
Esophageal perforation is a serious life threatening injury that may occur during inadvertent esophageal intubation. We report two cases of iatrogenic esophageal perforation after attempted endotracheal intubation. Our experience confirms that early diagnosis (as in the first case) is associated with a more favorable outcome. Therefore, a high index of suspicion is required for early diagnosis of this complication because the symptoms are often nonspecific and may be delayed.