• Ha Yeon Kim, Eung Jin Kim, Cheung Soo Shin, and Jeongmin Kim.
• Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Ajou University School of Medicine, 164 World cup-ro, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, 16499, Republic of Korea.
• J Anesth. 2019 Feb 1; 33 (1): 118-124.

PurposeTo evaluate risk factors associated with improper postoperative nasal Ring-Adair-Elwyn (RAE) tube depth.MethodsWe retrospectively enrolled 133 adult patients who were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) with the nasal RAE tube after head and neck surgery. Postoperative chest radiography was performed to confirm nasal RAE tube depth immediately after the patient was admitted to the ICU. Proper tube depth was defined as the tube tip between 2 and 7 cm above the carina. The patients were divided into the proper-depth group (78 patients) and the improper-depth group (55 patients). Patients' characteristics were collected. The risk factors for improper postoperative tube depth were assessed using logistic regression analysis.Main ResultsAll patients who showed improper tube depth had a shallow tube depth (the tube tip > 7 cm above the carina). Multivariable analysis revealed that tall stature [odds ratio (OR) 1.16; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.08-1.25; P < 0.001], prolonged anesthesia duration (OR 1.16; 95% CI 1.02-1.32; P = 0.026), and right-sided surgical field as compared to the left (OR 0.36; 95% CI 0.14-0.93; P = 0.034) or median field (OR 0.25; 95% CI 0.07-0.85; P = 0.027) were risk factors associated with postoperative shallow tube depth.ConclusionsTall stature, prolonged anesthesia duration, and right-sided surgical field were independent risk factors for postoperative shallow nasal RAE tube depth.

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