SummaryMost paediatric tracheal tubes are marked in centimetres from the tip. In 105 children, nasotracheal tube length was set at the level of the vocal cords such that all 3.0 and 3.5mm internal diameter tubes were placed with the 3 cm mark at the cords, all 4.0 and 4.5 tubes were set at 4 cm at the cords and all 5.0 and 5.5 tubes were set at 5 cm at the cords. Subsequent chest X ray showed that 79% of the tracheal tubes were in the ideal midtracheal position, one tube was marginally short and 20% of the tubes were marginally long. Neither bronchial intubation nor accidental extubation occurred in any subject. This is an effective method to determine tracheal tube length which may be used for both oral and nasal intubation.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.