Life‐threatening airway obstruction caused by a retropharyngeal haematoma

We present the case of a 68‐year‐old woman who had a large cervicomediastinal haematoma that caused life‐threatening airway obstruction. Retropharyngeal haematoma may occur in any age group and following a variety of causes. Retropharyngeal haematomas must be considered as a cause of airway obstruct...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Anaesthesia 1999-07, Vol.54 (7), p.674-678
Main Authors: Senthuran, S., Lim, S., Gunning, K. E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Airway Obstruction - diagnostic imaging
Airway Obstruction - etiology
Airway Obstruction - therapy
Airway
obstruction
Anesthesia. Intensive care medicine. Transfusions. Cell therapy and gene therapy
Biological and medical sciences
Complications
haematoma, retropharyngeal
Emergency and intensive respiratory care
Female
Hematoma - complications
Humans
Intensive care medicine
Mediastinal Diseases - complications
Medical sciences
Respiration, Artificial
Tomography, X-Ray Computed
Tracheal Stenosis - diagnostic imaging
Tracheal Stenosis - etiology
Tracheal Stenosis - therapy
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Summary:We present the case of a 68‐year‐old woman who had a large cervicomediastinal haematoma that caused life‐threatening airway obstruction. Retropharyngeal haematoma may occur in any age group and following a variety of causes. Retropharyngeal haematomas must be considered as a cause of airway obstruction following common injuries such as blunt cervical trauma or internal jugular vein cannulation. A high index of suspicion and early lateral neck X‐ray is essential for safe management of this rare but potentially life‐threatening injury.
ISSN:0003-2409
1365-2044
DOI:10.1046/j.1365-2044.1999.00890.x