Comparison of preformed microcuff and preformed uncuffed endotracheal tubes in pediatric cleft palate surgery
A randomized controlled trial
Pediatric Anesthesia
Submitted July 2024 by Dr Kevin McCarthy
This was an RCT of microcuff oral RAE versus uncuffed oral RAE endotracheal tubes for cleft palate surgery.
The microcuff tubes were associated with a lower tube exchange rate (0% vs. 38%) and lower rate of endobronchial intubation (0% vs. 6%).
All patients had throat packs, and assessment of tube depth for the uncuffed tubes was not reported, so there are some limitations to the clinical ‘take home message’ from this study. There was no economic analysis in this study, however one could make the case that the greater per item cost of microcuff tubes may be offset by needing to use fewer of them.
