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[Pressure-volume relationship for paediatric cuffed tracheal tube]
J M Devys1, V Guellec, J M Mourès
1Département d'anesthésiologie-réanimation-urgences, fondation Adolphe-de-Rothschild, 25-29, rue Manin, 75940 cedex 19, Paris, France. jmdevys@fo-rothschild.fr <jmdevys@fo-rothschild.fr>
Objective:
Define the pressure-volume relationship of the cuff of paediatric cuffed tracheal tubes.
Study Design:
Experimental study.
Materials And Methods:
The cuff pressure was measured after incremental 0.1 ml filling volumes for 6 sizes (3.0 to 5.5 mm of internal diameter) of paediatric high volume-low pressure cuffed-tracheal tubes. The pressure-volume relationship of the cuff was assessed with and without resistance to the filling. Results were expressed with medium +/- SD.
Result:
Each increment increased the cuff pressure, without resistance, of 7.3 +/- 1.7 mmHg for sizes 3.0, 3.5 and 4.0, 4.8 +/- 1.6 mmHg for size 4.5, and 2.3 +/- 0.9 mmHg for sizes 5 and 5.5. The resistance decreased the filling volume of the cuff for each size of tracheal tubes.
Conclusion:
The margin of safety provided by cuff of smallest cuffed tracheal tubes is too small. Then, the smallest sizes (3.0 to 4.5) should not be called low pressure-high volume cuff.