A new patient-circuit adapter for use with high frequency jet ventilators

Current techniques of connecting a patient's endotracheal tube to the delivery circuit of a high frequency jet ventilator have several disadvantages. We describe a rigid, interchangeable adapter with a built-in jet injector that connects to any type or size of endotracheal tube. The device is reusable and avoids some of the disadvantages, such as catheter kinking, difficulty in accommodating injectors of different diameters, and tracheal tube obstruction, inherent in other commonly used techniques. It has been used successfully on 44 patients ranging in size from premature infants to adults.