Smiths Medical Issues Urgent Correction for Endotracheal Tubes Due to Size Discrepancy Risk

Smiths Medical has issued an Urgent Medical Device Correction to notify affected global customers of a potential issue with the 2.0, 2.5, 3.0 and 3.5 mm sizes of Intubation ORAL/NASAL Endotracheal Tube products being smaller than expected.

If the diameter of the device is smaller than expected, it may potentially result in inadequate ventilation to the patient, post-insertion of the endotracheal tube. In such situations, the patient may experience hypoxia, underdose, and/or cardiopulmonary collapse which may lead to death. To date, Smiths Medical has received eight (8) reports of serious injury that are potentially related to this issue.

All impacted customers and distributors were sent a letter outlining the risk and providing specific steps to determine whether their devices are affected or not and what steps to follow if they have affected product in service.