Mortality Resulting from Inability to Ventilate after Tracheostomy Bleeding: A case Report

We report the case of a patient who experienced difficulty breathing after a tracheostomy and was checked for hemorrhaging. The patient eventually died. An 81-year-old male patient received a small bowel resection and adhesion lysis due to jejunal diverticulitis and adhesion ileus. Two weeks later, a tracheostomy was scheduled because mechanical ventilation could not be discontinued. Hemorrhaging from the tracheostomy site occurred 3 days later. When patient was sent to the operating room, a large number of blood clots were noted over his neck and bed. Ventilation could not be achieved. A suction catheter was inserted into the tracheostomy tube, and a small amount of fresh blood was suctioned out. Ventilation resumed, and the tracheostomy tube was changed to an oral endotracheal tube. After insertion of the endotracheal tube, we were unable to reestablish ventilation. This time, asystole soon developed, and cardiac massage was started. Due to the inability to restart ventilation, the patient eventually died. Prompt diagnosis and management are important in the condition of inability to ventilate. Bronchoscopy is helpful in the diagnosis and in the removal of the obstructed lesions.