The Importance of Bedside Ultrasonography in Confirming the Location of Endotracheal Tube

Objective. Endotracheal intubation may be associated with lethal complications when not applied in appropriate manner. In this study, we aimed to examine the efficiency of transcricoid and pulmonary ultrasonography in confirming the position of the tube in comparison with classical methods. Methods. This study was carried out between 2016 and 2017 in Turkey and was registered in Clinical Trials under number NCT03081221. The location of the tube was confirmed using methods such as monitoring the vocal cords during direct laryngoscopy, condensation on endotracheal tube during respiration, epigastric-pulmonary auscultation, radiography and capnometry. After that, the transcricoid and pulmonary ultrasonography were implemented by the blinded pediatric emergency care specialist. Results. 64 cases who needed advanced airway requirements were involved in this study. The double-line appearance could not be obtained from one patient only when using transcricoid ultrasonography, but the bilateral pleural shift movement was observed among all the cases by using pulmonary ultrasonography (sensitive: 98%400%). Conclusion. The determination of endoesophageal, endotracheal and endobronchial intubations can be easily made by using transcricoid and pulmonary ultrasonography. The use of ultrasonography may significantly contribute to critical airway management as fast, accurate and on time.