Use of chest x-ray in the estimation of the tracheal diameter size
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Evaluation of the use of chest x-rays in the estimation of the approximate size of the tracheal diameter
IRAS ID
209133
Contact name
Andreas Brodbeck
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
James Paget University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
For patients who require ventilation as part of their care to reduce the physical work of breathing, it is important to be able to choose the right size of breathing tube (the largest that they can accommodate). This helps reduce the work of breathing and using the right size tube optimizes weaning from ventilation when the time comes. Also the risk of injury to the lining of the airway can be reduced. The consequence of choosing an inappropriate size could be either tracheal wall damage or prolonged time to wean off from a ventilator.
At present there are no clear guidelines or recommendations available in the medical literature on how to choose the appropriate size of tracheal cannula in adults although there are some for paediatrics.
So the question is whether it is possible to estimate the appropriate size of a tracheal cannula by measuring the tracheal width on a plain x-ray film and thereby help clinicians choose a more appropriate tracheal cannula.REC name
West Midlands - South Birmingham Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/WM/0361
Date of REC Opinion
26 Sep 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion