Open AccessAccidental oxygen disconnection in the emergency department
Author(s) -
Guyon J. Hill,
Bruce D. Adams
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of emergencies, trauma and shock
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.313
H-Index - 29
eISSN - 0974-519X
pISSN - 0974-2700
DOI - 10.4103/0974-2700.62123
Subject(s) - disconnection , accidental , emergency department , teamwork , medical emergency , oxygen , medicine , chemistry , nursing , physics , political science , acoustics , law , organic chemistry
Accidental oxygen disconnection during rapid sequence intubation (RSI) in the emergency department is a potentially catastrophic yet avoidable event. We report three cases of inadvertent oxygen disconnection during RSI, which resulted in significant oxygen desaturation. This error can potentially be prevented by thorough preparation, focusing on teamwork training, ensuring an ergonomic environment, and by making simple modifications to existing equipment.