The esophageal detector device can give false positives for tracheal intubation.

The esophageal detector device is a useful, inexpensive, portable device for the detection of inadvertent intubation of the esophagus. It has been extensively tested. It is very accurate with occasional false negatives for tracheal intubation but only two reported cases of false positives for tracheal intubation previously described. This article presents two further cases of false positives for tracheal intubation using the esophageal detector device and warns that although it is the more accurate of the cheap and portable devices available, it is not perfect.