• W J Chwals, K P Lally, and M M Woolley.
• Department of Surgery, Los Angeles Children's Hospital, CA.
• Crit. Care Med. 1992 Jun 1; 20 (6): 768-70.

ObjectiveTo establish the effect of an audible airleak (around an endotracheal tube) on oxygen consumption (VO2) measurements in pediatric ICU patients.DesignProspective trial comparing VO2 measurements before and after deflation of the endotracheal tube cuff.SettingPediatric ICU in a large pediatric tertiary care center.PatientsTwenty critically ill infants and children receiving mechanical ventilatory support via cuffed endotracheal tube.InterventionsDeflation of endotracheal tube cuff.Measurements And Main ResultsThe presence (group 1, n = 9) or absence (group 2, n = 11) of an audible airleak with the cuff deflated was confirmed by two independent observers. The percent difference in VO2 was calculated for both groups using the following formula: ([VO2 cuff up - VO2 cuff down]/VO2 cuff up) x 100. An audible airleak associated with cuff deflation (group 1) caused a significant (p = .0012) reduction of VO2 by 45.6% (mean difference in VO2 = 45.6%). In contrast, with no audible airleak after cuff deflation (group 2), only minimal changes in VO2 (mean difference in VO2 = -0.4%) were observed.ConclusionsThese data suggest that if no audible airleak is detected, VO2 determined by indirect calorimetry may be reliably measured in infants and children with a noncuffed endotracheal tube.

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