TRACHEOBRONCHIAL MORPHOMETRY CORRELATES WITH DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS AND INFECTIONS IN CRITICALLY ILL PATIENTS

Tracheal measurements in the intensive care unit (ICU) are important for the choice of endotracheal tube and may correlate with patient demographic characteristics and infections. The study included 42 surgical patients, age 60 [48-71] years, who underwent diagnostic chest computed tomography (CT) scans during treatment in the ICU, Osijek University Hospital, in 2019 and 2020. CT scans were analyzed using AW Server 3.2. Measurement analysis showed that the diameters of the tracheobronchial tree, the length of the trachea and left main bronchus were significantly larger in men compared to women (p<0.05 all). The smallest tracheal upper diameter was 15.25 [IQR 11.8-18.8] mm vs. 17.95 [13.55-20.05] mm in septic and nonseptic patients, respectively (p=0.028). A total of 26 patients who underwent CT scans developed nosocomial pneumonia. It was right-sided in 15, left-sided in 6 and bilateral in 5 patients, and correlated significantly with the left main bronchus length (ρ=0.515, p=0.007). No correlation was observed between tracheobronchial measurements and length of ICU treatment, number of hours spent on mechanical ventilation, or survival. A larger study could provide better data on the importance of tracheobronchial tree measurements in ICU patients.