Presentation
Check feeding tube placement.
Patient Data
Feeding tube coiled in the right pleural space with hydropneumothorax.
Figure 963 from Gray's 1918 Anatomy of the Human Body looking down into the main bronchi from just above the carina shows that the right main bronchus arises more directly from the trachea than the left bronchus. This explains why foreign bodies and misplaced devices are more likely to end up in the right rather than the left lung.
Case Discussion
The most common complication of feeding or nasogastric tube placement is misplacement into the lung, usually the right. If the tube is advanced into the pleural space, a pneumothorax may result. In cases of inadvertent pulmonary tube placement, a follow-up CXR after tube removal/repositioning is recommended to rule out a pneumothorax.
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