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- Published on: 8 February 2018
- Published on: 8 February 2018Response to letter re: ‘A source of tension’
I would like to thank the authors for making this important point and highlighting the error in Illuminations (ADC E&P, 102(5), pp. 265-266.); ‘A source of tension’. A check for appropriate placement of support lines and tubes is just as important as identifying pathology when reviewing imaging. In small infants variations in head position may significantly alter the endotracheal tube (ETT) tip position and the difference between one vertebral body level and the next may be as little as 5-10mm. Therefore careful examination of the chest radiograph followed by any necessary alteration of the ETT will reduce the likelihood of complications secondary to misplacement.
It is also important to carefully check your manuscript when submitting material for publication. My intention was to point out the suboptimal positions of both the ETT and nasogastric (NG) tubes, in addition to the large tension pneumothorax. The ETT tip is too low in the distal trachea, and the NG tube tip is in the lower oesophagus and should be advanced into the stomach. Unfortunately, somewhere in the process of author checking and internal review this was omitted in error. Thanks once again for pointing this out.
Conflict of Interest:
None declared.