Post intubation high airway pressure’s: An uncommon case of kinked tube

High airway pressure’s post intubation is a critical event which requires the urgent intervention of the attending anesthesiologist. We report a case of high peak pressure and plateau pressure after intubation which was actually due to the kinked scavenging tubing of anesthesia workstation. Many a times this may happen, but is missed by even the experienced anesthesiologist who attribute the high airway pressures to change in the lung compliance of the patient or faulty equipment and will immediately respond with therapeutic intervention or replace the workstation/ventilator. A systematic evaluation of the lungs as well as the function of the ventilator along with the scavenging tubing’s, a commonly missed entity is mandatory in each case.

Keywords: Airway pressure, Anesthesia, Scavenging system.