Aspiration of a fractured tracheostomy cannula in a pediatric patient

Excerpt

A seven-year-old, 22-kg male with CHARGE syndrome (i.e., coloboma of the eye; heart disease; atresia of the choanae; retarded growth, development, and/or central nervous system anomalies; genital hypoplasia in males; ear anomalies and/or deafness)1 and tracheostomy dependence presented to the emergency department after a vigorous coughing spell. Upon attempted suctioning, his mother noted that the tracheostomy shaft had become disconnected from the neck plate. He exhibited mildly laboured breathing, had clear secretions from the stoma, and maintained oxygen saturations of 93−98% on room air. A chest radiograph (Figure A) confirmed a foreign body in the trachea extending into the right mainstem bronchus. His last gastrostomy tube feeding had been five hours prior.

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