Utility of surface landmark technique in providing optimal intratracheal endotracheal tube placement during orotracheal intubation

Background and Aims: Optimal endotracheal tube (ETT) placement in patients with short tracheas by the existing techniques is challenging because of the fixed intratracheal ETT length of insertion. However, in the surface landmark technique (SLT), the individual’s tracheal length (distance between mi...

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Main Authors: Amit K. Mittal, Anil K. Patel, Jitendra Dubey, Seema Shukla, Nikhil Bhasin, Manoj Bhardwaj
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2025-01-01
Series:Journal of Anaesthesiology Clinical Pharmacology
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Online Access:https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/joacp.joacp_363_23
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author Amit K. Mittal
Anil K. Patel
Jitendra Dubey
Seema Shukla
Nikhil Bhasin
Manoj Bhardwaj
author_facet Amit K. Mittal
Anil K. Patel
Jitendra Dubey
Seema Shukla
Nikhil Bhasin
Manoj Bhardwaj
author_sort Amit K. Mittal
collection DOAJ
description Background and Aims: Optimal endotracheal tube (ETT) placement in patients with short tracheas by the existing techniques is challenging because of the fixed intratracheal ETT length of insertion. However, in the surface landmark technique (SLT), the individual’s tracheal length (distance between mid-thyroid and manubrium–sternum) was estimated and 3 cm was deducted from it to obtain the desired intratracheal ETT length of insertion. Being a new technique, its reliability in providing optimal placement is yet to be evaluated. Hence, to assess the utility and reliability of SLT in achieving optimal placement, this study was planned. Material and Methods: In this prospective study, 406 participants were equally randomized between SLT and intubation guide mark (IGM) groups for ETT placement. In both groups, ETT tip–carina distance (DTC) was measured to assess optimal placements. The placements were compared by paired t-test. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to assess optimal ETT placement between techniques. Results: The mean DTC in the SLT (3.52 ± 0.68 cm) group was significantly higher than in the IGM (2.23 ± 1.01 cm) group, with P < 0.0001. Consequently, optimal placements were significantly higher in the SLT group (190 [95%]) compared to the IGM (121 [60.5%]) group (P < 0.0001). On ROC, at a cut-off value for DTC of 1.5 cm, the observed area under the curve to assess optimal ETT placements was significantly better in SLT (0.997, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.997–1.000) compared to IGM (0.968, 95% CI 0.933–0.988), with P < 0.0001. Conclusion: Based on the measurement of an individual’s tracheal length, SLT is a reliable and useful technique to achieve optimal tube placement.
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spelling doaj-art-c92e3a2e872a4e36b4e8b48308d0a63b2025-08-20T02:13:41ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsJournal of Anaesthesiology Clinical Pharmacology2231-27302025-01-0141112613210.4103/joacp.joacp_363_23Utility of surface landmark technique in providing optimal intratracheal endotracheal tube placement during orotracheal intubationAmit K. MittalAnil K. PatelJitendra DubeySeema ShuklaNikhil BhasinManoj BhardwajBackground and Aims: Optimal endotracheal tube (ETT) placement in patients with short tracheas by the existing techniques is challenging because of the fixed intratracheal ETT length of insertion. However, in the surface landmark technique (SLT), the individual’s tracheal length (distance between mid-thyroid and manubrium–sternum) was estimated and 3 cm was deducted from it to obtain the desired intratracheal ETT length of insertion. Being a new technique, its reliability in providing optimal placement is yet to be evaluated. Hence, to assess the utility and reliability of SLT in achieving optimal placement, this study was planned. Material and Methods: In this prospective study, 406 participants were equally randomized between SLT and intubation guide mark (IGM) groups for ETT placement. In both groups, ETT tip–carina distance (DTC) was measured to assess optimal placements. The placements were compared by paired t-test. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to assess optimal ETT placement between techniques. Results: The mean DTC in the SLT (3.52 ± 0.68 cm) group was significantly higher than in the IGM (2.23 ± 1.01 cm) group, with P < 0.0001. Consequently, optimal placements were significantly higher in the SLT group (190 [95%]) compared to the IGM (121 [60.5%]) group (P < 0.0001). On ROC, at a cut-off value for DTC of 1.5 cm, the observed area under the curve to assess optimal ETT placements was significantly better in SLT (0.997, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.997–1.000) compared to IGM (0.968, 95% CI 0.933–0.988), with P < 0.0001. Conclusion: Based on the measurement of an individual’s tracheal length, SLT is a reliable and useful technique to achieve optimal tube placement.https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/joacp.joacp_363_23endotracheal intubationendotracheal tube tip-to-carina distanceintubation guide markoptimal tube placementstracheal surface landmarks
spellingShingle Amit K. Mittal
Anil K. Patel
Jitendra Dubey
Seema Shukla
Nikhil Bhasin
Manoj Bhardwaj
Utility of surface landmark technique in providing optimal intratracheal endotracheal tube placement during orotracheal intubation
Journal of Anaesthesiology Clinical Pharmacology
endotracheal intubation
endotracheal tube tip-to-carina distance
intubation guide mark
optimal tube placements
tracheal surface landmarks
title Utility of surface landmark technique in providing optimal intratracheal endotracheal tube placement during orotracheal intubation
title_full Utility of surface landmark technique in providing optimal intratracheal endotracheal tube placement during orotracheal intubation
title_fullStr Utility of surface landmark technique in providing optimal intratracheal endotracheal tube placement during orotracheal intubation
title_full_unstemmed Utility of surface landmark technique in providing optimal intratracheal endotracheal tube placement during orotracheal intubation
title_short Utility of surface landmark technique in providing optimal intratracheal endotracheal tube placement during orotracheal intubation
title_sort utility of surface landmark technique in providing optimal intratracheal endotracheal tube placement during orotracheal intubation
topic endotracheal intubation
endotracheal tube tip-to-carina distance
intubation guide mark
optimal tube placements
tracheal surface landmarks
url https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/joacp.joacp_363_23
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