Reference no: EM133638389

Question

A 68-year-old male was admitted for GI bleeding and underwent hemicolectomy. He was putLevel 1on a ventilator after surgery and transferred to the surgical intensive care unit. On the 6thLevel 2post-operative day, while still on the ventilator, he developed respiratory secretions andLevel 3became restless and agitated. He was sedated with a medication, which seemed to improveMore info neededhis condition. On the 8thpost-operative day, 2 nurses turned the patient on his side for abath. Patient started coughing and was noted to have secretions. Respiratory therapist wassummoned to assist nurses who had started to suction patient secretions. Respiratorytherapist checked patient's endotracheal tube and found it to be in oropharynx rather thantrachea. Tube was removed and respiratory therapist attempted re-intubation but wasunsuccessful. Code Red (cardiac arrest) was called to alert staff help was needed. Certifiednurse anesthetist arrived within minutes and attempted to reintubate, but she could notvisualize patient's vocal cords. Another attempt was made with a smaller tube and it wasalso unsuccessful. The third reintubation attempt was successful, however the patient couldnot be resuscitated and he expired.