Following successful intubation, a patient has abdominal distention. What is the most appropriate next step?

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Multiple Choice

Following successful intubation, a patient has abdominal distention. What is the most appropriate next step?

Gastric distention after securing the airway usually comes from air entering the stomach during positive-pressure ventilation. The immediate goal is to decompress the stomach to improve ventilation and reduce aspiration risk. Placing a nasogastric tube and connecting it to suction directly accomplishes this by removing air and gastric contents quickly. Rationale for the other approaches: increasing PEEP can worsen stomach distention by forcing more air into the gastrointestinal tract; deflating the endotracheal cuff would risk airway loss and aspiration; laxatives do not provide rapid relief in an acute emergency and aren’t appropriate for immediate decompression.

Gastric distention after securing the airway usually comes from air entering the stomach during positive-pressure ventilation. The immediate goal is to decompress the stomach to improve ventilation and reduce aspiration risk. Placing a nasogastric tube and connecting it to suction directly accomplishes this by removing air and gastric contents quickly.

Rationale for the other approaches: increasing PEEP can worsen stomach distention by forcing more air into the gastrointestinal tract; deflating the endotracheal cuff would risk airway loss and aspiration; laxatives do not provide rapid relief in an acute emergency and aren’t appropriate for immediate decompression.

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