Unfortunately, even today, confirming endotracheal tube (ETT) position after emergent
intubation remains an inexact science. All the standard techniques, such as auscultation
of bilateral breath sounds, absence of breath sounds in the epigastric area, visible
equal chest wall expansion, mist in the ETT tube, direct view of the ETT passing through
the vocal cords, appropriate oxygen saturations, and proper color change from the
disposable CO2 detector are at times, imprecise, impractical, or misleading.
1
,
2
With these limitations, however, the airway is thought to be properly secured and
the patient properly ventilated if adequate oxygen saturation and CO2 color detection are achieved and the ETT is secured at a reasonable depth in the
trachea.To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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© 2006 Air Medical Journal Associates. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
