Case report: a ball valve blood clot in the airways - life-saving whole tube suction.
Respiratory tract obstruction due to a blood clot may result in life threatening ventilatory impairment. Ball valve blood clot obstructions of the airways are rare. A ball valve blood clot acts as a one-way valve, allowing (near) normal air entry into the airways, but (completely) blocking expiration. In a near fatal case of obstruction of the airways by a ball valve blood clot, we performed 'whole tube suction' to resolve the airway problem.
Anaesthesiologist-Intensivist, Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. d.a.dongelmans@amc.uva.nl <d.a.dongelmans@amc.uva.nl>
Dave A
DA
Dongelmans
Rene E
RE
Jonkers
Marcus J
MJ
Schultz
D000402:Airway Obstruction / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D001999:Bronchoscopy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D016030:Kidney Transplantation; D008875:Middle Aged; D013396:Suction / Q000379:methods*; D013927:Thrombosis / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D014139:Tracheostomy