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A meconium suctioning device that is safe and practical
M J Coraggio1, H G Alexander, J D Roscelli
1Department of Pediatrics, Letterman Army Medical Center, Presidio of San Francisco, California 94129-6700.
Immediate suctioning of meconium from the trachea of newborns is believed to be an effective method for preventing or minimizing the meconium aspiration syndrome. Recently, however, the possibility of transmitting disease from the newborn to the physician or vice versa, while using the standard technique of direct oral suction (through a surgical mask), has been stressed. This has prompted the development of alternative methods for suctioning the newborn's trachea. These methods, while eliminating the possibility of disease transmission, create other problems. We, therefore, devised a technique for tracheal suctioning using inexpensive, readily available materials that is not only safe and effective in suctioning meconium but is also practical and easy to perform.
Immediate suctioning of meconium from the trachea of newborns is believed to be an effective method for preventing or minimizing the meconium aspiration syndrome. Recently, however, the possibility of transmitting disease from the newborn to the physician or vice versa, while using the standard technique of direct oral suction (through a surgical mask), has been stressed. This has prompted the development of alternative methods for suctioning the newborn's trachea. These methods, while eliminating the possibility of disease transmission, create other problems. We, therefore, devised a technique for tracheal suctioning using inexpensive, readily available materials that is not only safe and effective in suctioning meconium but is also practical and easy to perform.