An Investigation of endotracheal Tube cuff Pressure

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Abstract

  Background and Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the endotracheal tube cuff (ETT) pressure in the intensive care unit (ICU) patients, who had been intubated.     Meterials and Methods: All patients were placed in ICU during the last three month 2008. The endotracheal tube cuff (ETT) pressure in 308 cases was measured at twice by an expert. A standard manometer was used to measure the cuff pressure and it was calibrated before and after the measurement.     Results: The results show indicated that 50% of cases 1 suffered from brain injuries and 63.6% of them were intubated as a result of brain problem. The value of cuff pressure was not standard in 31 cases at both times. In addition, the cuff pressure in 49% of cases was not standard at first, but after correction it decreased to 18.5%.This emphasizes the effectiveness of having supervision over cuff pressure in acceptable regular intervals by treatment team.     Conclusion: It is suggested that along with recording the vital signs of the patieut, ETT cuff pressure beingrecorded at appropriate intervals as well.

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