J Wasserberger, G J Ordog, A F Turner, J Eskridge, G Bryon, D H Eubanks, V Wali
An unconscious victim of an overdose was intubated with an endotracheal tube to prevent aspiration. The respiratory therapist deflated the cuff of the endotracheal tube to allow for a retrograde oral air leak and then tightly attached the oxygen tube directly to the endotracheal tube. Seconds later there was a loud pop as the oxygen tube blew off the end of the endotracheal tube. The patient sustained both a hemodynamic and a neurologic decompensation as the result of marked pulmonary overinflation, with bilateral pneumothoraces and probable cerebral and coronary artery air emboli...
August 1986: Annals of Emergency Medicine