You have just performed an emergency cricothyroidotomy and inserted an endotracheal tube. Your partner has begun ventilating the patient, when you notice that only the right side of the patient's chest is rising and falling with each breath. When you auscultate the patient's chest, you hear breath sounds in the right lung, but not the left lung. What has likely happened during the procedure? How can the mistake be fixed?

-The mistake could be that the endotracheal tube was too deep.

-By taking some out will fix the problem.

Explanation:

What has likely happened during the procedure?

The most likely thing that had happened is that the endotracheal tube was too deep into the upper airways and has got into the right primary bronchus and that every time my partner ventilate the air only gets through the right side.

How can the mistake be fixed?

By pulling the endotracheal tube out a little bit only for it to stay in the trachea and not inside of one bronchus.

Explanation:

A cricothyrotomy is an incision made through the skin and endotracheal tube is inserted to develop an artificial airway. It is usually performed under high emergency situations.

Now as per given situation, the likely reason is the wrong insertion of the endotracheal tube or there was some foreign body obstruction in the passage which wasn’t fixed in the first procedure.

To fix it, clear the obstruction or insert the endotracheal tube in the correct position

no. i had a handful this morning