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Updated: Jun 11, 2026

The Rigid Tube as an Alternative in Controlling the Problematic Airway
Published on: June 6, 2020
Case series: Tension pneumothorax complicating narrow-bore enteral feeding tube placement
Sheldon Y Freeberg1, Thomas P Carrigan, Daniel A Culver
1Department of Internal Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA.
Abstract:
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.
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