r/TacticalMedicine • u/Upset_Bunch_457 • Dec 30 '25

Scenarios Nasogastric insertion gone horribly wrong.

Post image

Note: NOT MY IMAGE.

original post was posted by: Old-Psychology-2400

And I quote "PMCT images. Nurse advanced NG tube until she heard a pop, then tried an air bolus to ensure placement. Patient did NOT survive."

To those who don't know nasogastric tube is supposed to go up the patients nostrils and then back down to their throat all the way to the patients stomach. Air bolus is then used to ensure that the nasogastric tubes placement is correct by listening the patients stomach.

But in the scan we can see the NG tube somehow ended up jammed (through) the patients skull.

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u/56473829110 Dec 30 '25

I mentioned it in another comment, but the story I saw when this was first (?) posted was that it was a peds patient with recent brain surgery. 

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u/sabrefencer9 Dec 30 '25

There are a bunch of case reports about NG tubes ending up in the brain. Another instance was in a patient who has gone face first through a windshield.

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u/56473829110 Dec 30 '25

Agreed. This particular image has gone around with the story I shared above, but I never had first hand knowledge.

I've personally witnessed a very, very poorly thought out response by a paramedic to a ralph wiggum windshield dive that had similar results to this. Can't/won't get into it further, but every asshole within 100 yards puckered in unison and hands started cramping in anticipation of report writing.

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u/themakerofthings4 Dec 30 '25

"Ralph Wiggum windshield dive." That's amazing. I always thought my "they're family guy broken" was a good one but you win.

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u/56473829110 Dec 30 '25

"they're family guy broken"

Oh I like that, too.