Basic Chest Radiology: ET Tube Position and Complications
Channel: James Smirniotopoulos
Date: 2012-12-07

ET tubes are commonly placed for pulmonary ventilation, to protect the airway, and for patients with chest trauma.  Normally the tip of the ET tube should be 5-7 cm above the carina - roughly between the T5-6 and T6-7 intervertebral discs.  The balloon cuff - which seals the airway to allow lung inflation - should be less than 1.5 X the trachea diameter, to avoid causing tracheomalacia.  Complications of ET tubes include intubation of either main-stem bronchi (tube too low), esophageal intubation, over-inflation of the balloon, and barotrauma causing pneumomediastinum, pneumothorax, and subcutaneous emphysema.   MedPix® Teaching Files - http://rad.usuhs.edu/medpix/parent.php3?mode=tf2#top MedPix® is a Registered Trademark of USUHS