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Am J Forensic Med Pathol
; 35(2): 77-9, 2014 Jun.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-24781407
ABSTRACT
Tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF) is an uncommon but life-threatening sequel of prolonged use of a cuffed tracheostomy tube. We describe a patient who developed a TEF after a tracheostomy done for management of head injury due to a road traffic mishap. The patient subsequently died of sepsis after bilateral bronchopneumonia. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first autopsy case of iatrogenic TEF after tracheal intubation reported in forensic literature.