Fatal Complications of Nasogastric Tube Misplacement in Two Dogs.

Abstract

Provision of enteral nutrition via the use of nasoenteric feeding tubes is a commonly used method in both veterinary and human medicine. Although case reports in human medicine have identified fatalities due to misplacement of nasogastric (NG) tubes into the tracheobronchial tree and subsequent pneumothorax, there are no case reports, to our knowledge, of fatalities in veterinary patients. This case report describes two fatalities caused by misplaced NG tubes in intubated patients (one intraoperative, one postoperative). This report highlights risk factors for feeding tube complications and methods to prevent future fatalities such as two-view radiography, two-step insertion, capnography, laryngoscopic-assisted placement, and palpation of the NG tube in the stomach. The recent fatalities discussed within this case series demonstrate that deaths as a result of NG tubes misplaced into the tracheobronchial tree occur in veterinary patients, and measures should be taken to prevent this complication.