Postoperative Airway Obstruction by a Bone Fragment
Table 1
Parameter
Bone fragment in situ
Bone fragment expelled
Mental state
Agitated
Cooperative
Patient’s position
Upright preferred
Regular
Respiration
Coughing
Normal breathing
O2 flow [l/min]
9
3
RF [/min]
20
15
SpO2 [%]
92%
97%
RR [mmHg]
151/79
121/70
HR [/min]
80 (136)
64
Key variables before (bone fragment in situ, left column) and after the bone fragment were expelled by the patient (right column) in the postoperative period. After expelling the bone fragment, all variables returned towards normal values. In parallel also the oxygen requirement could be markedly reduced. O2 flow: oxygen flow via the face mask; RF: respiratory frequency; SpO2: pulse oximetric arterial oxygen saturation; RR: arterial blood pressure; HR: heart rate. The heart rate in brackets indicates the peak heart rate recorded during this period.
