DOUBLE-LUMEN TUBES

Double-Lumen Endotracheal Tubes

Airway rupture from double-lumen tubes.

A DOUBLE-CUFFED double-lumen endobronchial tube (DLT) was used for the first time during thoracic surgery almost 50 years ago to isolate and selectively ventilate the lungs. The benefits of DLTs in terms of improved surgical exposure mad their ability to isolate and protect the lungs during thoracic operations are now widely recognized. Although DLTs are safe and easy to use, complications occu...

Tracheal diameter predicts double-lumen tube size: a method for selecting left double-lumen tubes.

T here are no objective criteria for selecting the size of a double-lumen endobronchial tube (DLT) (1). An inappropriately sized DLT can cause airway trauma and interfere with oxygenation and lung separation during one-lung ventilation. The goal of this study was to determine if measurement of tracheal diameter from the preoperative chest radiograph can be used to predict which size DLT to choo...

The clinical use of right-sided double-lumen tubes.

Right-sided double-lumen tubes (DLTs) have a bad reputation. Many experts in the field of thoracic anesthesia regard them as being difficult to position, having a small margin of safety for correct placement, and being prone to intraoperative malpositioning. However, in a randomized prospective study, Campos et al. compared the use of right vs left DLTs in two groups of 20 patients having left ...

Comparison of the resistances of double-lumen endobronchial tubes.

The resistance of commonly-used double-lumen endobronchial tubes were measured and a detailed comparison made. Robertshaw tubes were generally found to have a lower resistance than either the Carlens or the White tubes of equivalent size, but this was not so in every case. The White tubes had a disproportionately high resistance associated with the upper lobe orifice when compared with the resi...