Bilateral Pneumothoraces in a 3-Month-Old Infant During an Apnea Test in the Diagnosis of Brain Death

Abstract

We present the case of a 3-month-old boy who suffered bilateral pneumothoraces secondary to insufflation of oxygen into the endotracheal tube during the apnea test as part of brain death testing. Although rare, awareness of this potential complication of the apnea test is of particular importance in pediatric patients who have narrow endotracheal tubes, as resistance to expiratory flow increases exponentially as lumen diameter decreases.