Probe launched after feeding tube incident leaves Hong Kong patient in critical condition

Hong Kong health authorities have launched an investigation into a case involving a 61-year-old patient’s feeding tube being mistakenly inserted into his airway and left undetected for more than a day, leaving him in a critical condition.

Health minister Lo Chung-mau offered his deepest sympathies on Thursday to the patient and his family, saying that hospital staff would take care of the patient.

“I feel a lot of sadness and regret, as this type of incident where something was mistakenly inserted into the wrong tract, has happened before,” he said.

A nurse in an orthopaedic ward at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Yau Ma Tei had replaced the man’s feeding tube at midday on Sunday as part of normal procedures, authorities said.

But another nurse felt the need to reinsert the tube – which went to the patient’s stomach via his nose – that evening, the Hospital Authority said on Wednesday.

An authority spokesman said the nurse followed protocol to verify the tube’s position. Feeding of formula milk to the man then resumed, followed by a chest X-ray.

However, his condition suddenly deteriorated in the early hours of Tuesday. Doctors resuscitated the patient and performed a bronchoscopy – a procedure that allowed them to look at his lungs and air passages. They then discovered the feeding tube in his left bronchus, an airway leading to the lung.