Airway management with the Combitube during anaesthesia and in an XXXX .

@entity1 @entity341 @entity825 @entity130
The oesophageal-tracheal Combitube (Kendall-Sheridan Catheter Corp., Argyle, NY) is a device designed for difficult airways and @entity341 intubation. The manufacturer recommends that the Combitube size 37F SA be used in @entity1 with a height of between 122 and 152 cm. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether ventilation is effective and reliable in anaesthetized @entity1 taller than 152 cm using the size 37F SA in the oesophageal position. We also evaluated whether airway protection is adequate and whether direct intubation of the @entity825 with the Combitube inserted in the oesophagus is possible. We studied 15 adult @entity1 undergoing routine general anaesthesia and 20 @entity1 who required @entity341 intubation following @entity130 . They were between 150 and 180 cm in height. Under direct vision, a size 37F SA Combitube was inserted into the oesophagus of all the @entity1 undergoing routine general anaesthesia (control group). Blind insertion was performed in the @entity341 @entity1 ( @entity341 group). The pharyngeal balloon was inflated with a volume titrated to air leak and cuff pressures were measured. During surgery, a laryngoscope was inserted into the pharynx with the pharyngeal balloon deflated and the laryngoscopic view was evaluated using the Cormack-Lehane scale. Ventilation was effective and reliable in all 35 @entity1 who were between 150 and 180 cm in height. In addition, a direct relationship between the pharyngeal balloon volume and @entity1 height was established (P<0.05), using linear regression models. The laryngoscopic view of the glottis was adequate to allow direct tracheal intubation in @entity1 in the control group, so that the Combitube size 37F SA may be used in @entity1 from 122 to 185 cm in height. The @entity825 could be directly intubated with the Combitube in the oesophageal position in @entity1 with normal airways and in @entity1 involved in @entity130 . In all @entity1 in the @entity341 group, blind insertion of the Combitube resulted in the device being placed in the oesophagus. The airway protection appears to be adequate.
