Citation

Blain H, Bonnafous M, Grovalet N, Jonquet O, David M. Am. J. Med. 2010; 123(12): 1150.e7-11500000009.

Affiliation

Department of Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, University Hospital of Montpellier, and EUROMOV, University Montpellier 1, Montpellier.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.amjmed.2010.07.010

PMID

20870197

Abstract

BACKGROUND:: Confronted with an unconscious choking victim, it is recommended to call an ambulance and start mouth-to-mouth and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). We describe a procedure called the "table maneuver" that was successful in relieving foreign-body airway obstruction in four cases of choking in unconscious elderly patients over a 6-year period in the same long-term care facility. METHODS:: The patients ranged in age from 70 to 89 years and were cyanosed and unconscious after choking while having a meal at a table. In a first attempt in one case, after failure of the Heimlich maneuver in two cases, and in combination with CPR in one person in cardiac arrest, the choking person was laid down on the table in prone position with the head facing downwards, with the arms hanging over the table, and then given sharp blows between the scapulas with the heel of the hand. RESULTS:: After a few back blows in three cases, and in combination with CPR in one case, the patients forcefully spit out the foreign body (pieces of beets, Brussels sprouts, a croissant soaked in milk, or pieces of banana) without either early or late complications. CONCLUSION:: These four case reports show that the table maneuver is a potentially life-saving technique that could be applied to patients with severe choking caused by foreign-body airway obstruction who fail to respond to the Heimlich maneuver and other conventional treatments.

Language: en