Resp Care
-
Artificial airway cuff pressure should be maintained within a narrow range. Excessive cuff pressure presents a risk of tracheal damage and stenosis. Insufficient cuff pressure adds the risk of secretion leak past the cuff, tidal-volume leakage, and accidental extubation. The available cuff-inflation devices do not address these problems. ⋯ The cuff-inflation device demonstrated possible improvements over available cuff-inflation devices and cuff-pressure-control methods.