ABSTRACT
Objective To evaluate the accuracy of ultrasonographic measurement of the transverse diameter of the cricoid cartilage in selecting the cuffed endotracheal tube (ETT) size for pediatric patients.Methods A total of 120 pediatric patients of both sexes,of American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status Ⅰ or Ⅱ,aged 1 month-6 yr,with body mass index of 10.9-31.2 kg/m2,undergoing endotracheal intubation and general anesthesia,were divided into group A and group B,with 60 pediatric patients in each group.The pediatric patients were intubated with a cuffed ETT in two groups.The ETT size was selected based on the transverse diameter of the cricoid cartilage measured by ultrasonography in group A.The ETT size was selected according to the age-based formula in group B.A tracheal leak was detected after intubation to determine whether or not the ETT size selected was appropriate.ETTs were replaced when the actually selected ones were not appropriate,and the number of replacement was recorded.The development of intubation-related complications was also recorded.Results The accurate rate of cuffed ETT size selected at the first time was 95％ in group A,and it was significantly higher than that in group B (60％) (P＜ 0.05).There was no significant difference in the incidence of intubation-related complications between the two groups (P＞0.05).Conclusion Uhrasonographic measurement of the transverse diameter of the cricoid cartilage produces higher accuracy in selecting the cuffed ETT size for pediatric patients and is worthy of clinical application.