M e t h o d s Design: Randomized placebo-controlled trial. Allocation: Concealed.* Blinding: Blinded (clinicians and patients).* Follow-up period: Up to 24 hours after extubation. Setting: 7 intensive care units in France. Patients: 761 patients 47 to 74 years of age (mean age 66 y, 64% men) who were mechanically ventilated for > 36 hours (median duration 6 d) and were to be extubated in the in...

BACKGROUND The endotracheal tube (ETT) cuff-leak test (CLT) has been proposed as a relatively simple, noninvasive method for detecting the presence of laryngeal edema prior to tracheal extubation. OBJECTIVE To determine the value of the CLT for predicting postextubation stridor (PES) among medical and surgical patients, and to assess the impact of certain variables on the incidence of PES. ...