Endotracheal suctioning is performed regularly in ventilated infants and children to remove obstructive secretions. The effect of suctioning on respiratory mechanics is not known. This study aimed to determine the immediate effect of endotracheal suctioning on dynamic lung compliance, tidal volume, and airway resistance in mechanically-ventilated paediatric patients by means of a prospective ob...

STUDY OBJECTIVES To evaluate the influence of silver-coated endotracheal tubes on the lung bacterial burden of mechanically ventilated dogs. DESIGN Randomized, double-blinded, controlled experiment. SETTING Animal research facility of a regional medical university. PATIENTS OR PARTICIPANTS Eleven healthy adult dogs. INTERVENTIONS The dogs were intubated either with cuffed, noncoated end...

OBJECTIVES To investigate the effectiveness of mechanical cleaning with sterile urethral catheters to prevent formation of biofilms on endotracheal tubes. METHODS Forty-five children were randomized in equal numbers to endotracheal tube cleaning group for three times a day (group A), twice daily (group B), or to a control group with no endotracheal tube cleaning (group C). Bacterial studies a...

BACKGROUND Cardiac surgery is frequently associated with prolonged endotracheal intubation. Because oral feeding is an important component of patient recovery after high-risk surgery, we sought to examine the contribution of dysphagia in the recuperation process after prolonged endotracheal intubation. METHODS All 254 adult patients who survived cardiac surgery between 2001 and 2004 at the To...

BACKGROUND Optimal head and neck positioning and clinical experience are important factors for successful endotracheal intubation in patients with a difficult airway. This study aimed to investigate the rate of successful endotracheal intubation between the sniffing and ramped positions in patients with an expected difficult intubation. METHODS The study included 204 patients with an expected...

INTRODUCTION The ever-present risk of mass casualties and disaster situations may result in airway management situations that overwhelm local emergency medical services (EMS) resources. Endotracheal intubation requires significant user education/training and carries the risk of malposition. Furthermore, personal protective equipment (PPE) required in hazardous environments may decrease dexterit...

Increased intracranial pressure (ICP) is a medical emergency requiring immediate therapy which often includes airway control and endotracheal intubation. Given the need to prevent further increases in ICP, sedation and neuromuscular blockade is frequently used to facilitate endotracheal intubation. However, concerns regarding the ease of endotracheal intubation may complicate the decision proce...

Patents: To deliver drugs to patients on mechanical ventilation, the drug particles have to successfully navigate through an endotracheal tube and the ventilator tubing. Liquid formulations (e.g. nebulized) normally used with these patients are inefficient. Large amounts of drugs are deposited in the endotracheal tube and within the ventilator circuit. Dry powders offer an alternative formulati...