Comparative evaluation of methods for ensuring the correct position of the tracheal tube in children undergoing open heart surgery
Summary The length of the trachea varies and is relatively short in children, it is therefore difficult to determine the correct depth of tracheal tube placement. In 85 children, the tube was placed using one of the following methods: (i) after deliberate endobronchial intubation, withdrawal to the...
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Published in | Anaesthesia Vol. 58; no. 9; pp. 889 - 893 |
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Main Authors | , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Oxford, UK
Blackwell Science Ltd
01.09.2003
Blackwell |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Summary The length of the trachea varies and is relatively short in children, it is therefore difficult to determine the correct depth of tracheal tube placement. In 85 children, the tube was placed using one of the following methods: (i) after deliberate endobronchial intubation, withdrawal to the carina was confirmed by auscultation, and the tube was then withdrawn a further 2 cm (auscultation group); (ii) as above, except that withdrawal to the carina was confirmed by a decrease in peak inspiratory pressure (pressure group); (iii) the tube was placed with a 3.0‐cm mark at the vocal cords (mark group). The mean (SD) distance from the tip of the tube to the carina was 1.91 (0.81) cm in the auscultation group, and 1.93 (0.67) cm in the pressure group. These were not significantly different (p > 0.05) from targeted distance of 2 cm. In the mark group, the tube was located 2.30 (0.98) cm above the carina in children younger than 36 months and was further from the carina [6.16 (1.0) cm] in older children. In 20% of patients initially randomly allocated to the mark group, the mark could not be visualised. In conclusion, the methods described above effectively achieve adequate tracheal tube depth in children. |
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Bibliography: | Presented in part at the 50th annual meeting of the Japanese Society of Anaesthesiologists, 29–31 May 2003, Pacifico Yokohama, Japan. ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-1 ObjectType-News-3 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0003-2409 1365-2044 |
DOI: | 10.1046/j.1365-2044.2003.03336.x |