Recently, the severe rehabilitation team of the Rehabilitation Medicine Department and the Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine team at Liaoning Provincial People’s Hospital successfully collaborated to save an elderly bedridden patient with cerebrovascular disease from acute airway obstruction. This case once again highlights the crucial role of the hospital’s multidisciplinary coordination mechanism in handling critical and severe patients.

On the day of the incident, a nurse from the Rehabilitation Medicine Department noticed that a 78-year-old female patient showed signs of respiratory distress, cyanosis, and obvious gurgling sounds, with her blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) dropping to just 67%. The patient was highly suspected of having major airway mucus obstruction. The nurse immediately took emergency measures, providing high-flow oxygen and performing oral and nasal suction, successfully removing 20ml of white sticky mucus and temporarily raising the SpO2 to 72%. However, five minutes later, the SpO2 dropped sharply again to 58%, indicating a critical situation.

Facing the emergency, the attending physician quickly initiated the critical care protocol. The medical team established intravenous access, prepared for tracheal intubation, and urgently called the major airway rescue team from the Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine Department. The team arrived within five minutes, bringing bronchoscopy equipment, and immediately performed a bedside examination. The procedure revealed severe mucus blockage in the patient’s main airway. With precise teamwork, the obstruction was cleared in just over 10 seconds, restoring the patient’s SpO2 to 99% and significantly improving her consciousness.

This successful rescue case demonstrates the importance of efficient MDT (multidisciplinary team) collaboration in critical rehabilitation at Liaoning Provincial People’s Hospital. The close cooperation between the severe rehabilitation team and the major airway intervention team not only saved the patient’s life but also improved the success rate of emergency interventions and enhanced patient outcomes.

The Rehabilitation Medicine Department at Liaoning Provincial People’s Hospital primarily treats critically ill and complex rehabilitation patients. To ensure patient safety during rehabilitation, the hospital places great emphasis on multidisciplinary coordination. The success of this emergency intervention reaffirms the effectiveness and necessity of this mechanism. Moving forward, the hospital will further strengthen and refine its multidisciplinary collaboration to tackle more complex and critical medical challenges, safeguarding patients’ lives and well-being.