Investigation of the Tracheal Luminal Diameter in Koreans by using Chest Computed Tonography

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: It is important that the internal pressure of a cuff be sustained at a constant level (18~25 mmHg). If not, complications may result. Because the space for the intrusion of the cuff is limited, the pressure should be determined by the amount of air in the cuff and the tracheal luminal diameter. Since very limited studies of the tracheal luminal diameter in Korea exist, in this study, we report the relationships between the tracheal luminal diameter and other variables such as age, gender, pulmonary disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. METHODS: This study was based on chest CT cases at HanGang Sacred Heart Hospital in 2002. We retrospectively reviewed the charts of the 102 patients included in this study. The mean luminal diameter of the anterior-posterior(AP) and the transverse diameters were our dependent variables, and those diameters were checked by two investigators in each case. RESULTS: The average mean luminal diameter was 17.0mm, and the range of the mean luminal diameter was from 9.0 mm to 27.5 mm. The mean value for men was 18.3mm, and that for women was 15.1 mm, and the difference proved to be statistically different from zero (p<0.01). The luminal diameter is significantly different between COPD (m=19.0 mm) and non-COPD (m=17.0 mm) cases and the difference was statistically different from zero for all the statistics adopted in this study. CONCLUSION: This study found that the size of the luminal diameter was significantly different between two groups: men and women, and COPD and non-COPD cases. Despite the seminal findings of the present study, this study has several limitations.