Abstract
IntroductionTracheostomy is a common airway procedure for life support. The fracture of the tracheostomy tube is a rare complication. We report a case of a 14-year-old boy whose fractured stainless steel tracheostomy tube dislodged into the tracheobronchial tree. We include a literature review and proposed recommendations for tracheostomy care.Case presentationA 14-year-old Thai boy who had a stainless steel tracheostomy tube presented with a complaint of intermittent cough for 2 months. During tracheostomy tube cleaning, his parents found that the inner tube was missing. A chest X-ray revealed a metallic density foreign body in his right main bronchus. He underwent bronchoscopic removal of the inner tracheostomy tube and was discharged without further complications.ConclusionA fractured tracheostomy tube is a rare complication. Appropriate cleaning and scheduled replacement of the tracheostomy tube may prevent this complication.
Highlights
Tracheostomy is a common airway procedure for life support
We report a case of a 14-year-old boy with a fractured metallic tracheostomy tube in the tracheobronchial tree
The patient started coughing and during the daily cleaning session his parents found that the inner tube was missing
Summary
Tracheostomy is a common airway procedure for life support. Across the United States of America the tracheostomy rate ranges from 150 to 300 per 100,000 patients discharged from hospital; the pediatric tracheostomy rate is 7.5 per 100,000 [1]. We report a case of a 14-year-old boy with a fractured metallic tracheostomy tube in the tracheobronchial tree. Case presentation A 14-year-old Thai boy presented to the community hospital with a complaint of intermittent cough of two weeks duration Four years previously, he had undergone a tracheostomy for laryngeal stenosis following prolonged intubation after a burr-hole craniotomy for subdural hematoma evacuation. The patient started coughing and during the daily cleaning session his parents found that the inner tube was missing. The chest X-ray revealed a metallic density foreign body in his right main bronchus. He was referred to our university hospital for definite treatment. He had fully recovered at the one month follow-up and there were no signs of any late complications
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