Continuous Endotracheal Tube Cuff Pressure Monitoring

Overview

Tracheal tube cuff pressure in the range of 20 to 30 cmH2O is considered safe, but it is quite common to encounter cuff pressure outside this range in patients with tracheal intubation. Moreover, objective cuff pressure measurement and monitoring are not routinely applied, especially in general anesthesia practice. Overinflation of the cuff can potentially impair tracheal mucosal blood flow. This may lead to various tracheal injuries such as mucosal inflammation, mucosal ischemia, tracheal ulceration, tracheal stenosis, tracheoesophageal fistula, and tracheal rupture. Conversely, inadequate cuff inflation can lead to inadequate ventilation and microaspiration. The importance of routine cuff pressure measurement and pressure adjustment to keep the pressure in the desired range is emphasized in preventing such side effects in intubated patients. Despite this recommendation for routine intracuff pressure measurement, the methods used to measure and monitor cuff pressure vary from subjective estimation techniques to objective measurements, and there is a lack of specific protocols and documents in the current literature. For this purpose, in this study, it was aimed to perform continuous cuff pressure measurement monitoring using the transducer of the invasive pressure monitoring device, which is routinely used in arterial or central venous pressure monitoring, and to test the effectiveness of this method in reducing cuff-related complications including sore throat, hoarseness, and dysphagia compared to the intermittent monitoring method.

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Interventions