Accidental Placement of Nasogastric Tube into the Brain: Case Report and Review of the Literature

The nasogastric tube (NGT) plays a very vital role in the early resuscitation of head injury patients for various reasons. Though considered a simple procedure, it can be associated with multiple dreadful complications. Our patient was a 44-year-old male, referred from a peripheral health center for...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Khursheed Ansari, Rafique Umer Harvitkar, Saiprasad Shetty, Tushar P. Raut, Shabnam Qureshi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Thieme Medical and Scientific Publishers Pvt. Ltd. 2020-09-01
Series:International Journal of Recent Surgical and Medical Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.thieme-connect.de/DOI/DOI?10.1055/s-0040-1716802
Description
Summary:The nasogastric tube (NGT) plays a very vital role in the early resuscitation of head injury patients for various reasons. Though considered a simple procedure, it can be associated with multiple dreadful complications. Our patient was a 44-year-old male, referred from a peripheral health center for further management of severe head and faciomaxillary injuries following a motor vehicular accident. On arrival at the hospital, the endotracheal tube and NGT were in situ. A computed tomography scan of the brain revealed the NGT piercing through the cribriform plate of ethmoid and coiling into the cranial cavity with pneumocephalus. The NGT was retrieved under C-arm guidance and his injuries were managed respectively. The patient was discharged after prolong hospitalization with an acceptable outcome. With this case report, we want to remind emergency health care providers to avoid this catastrophic complication of NGT insertion in a faciomaxillary trauma patient by doing it transorally. We report a novel method of safely removing NGT which has not been reported in the past.
ISSN:2455-7420
2455-0949