Polyurethane cuffed endotracheal tubes to prevent early postoperative pneumonia after cardiac surgery Vrije Universiteit Brussel KU Leuven Universiteit Gent
OBJECTIVE: Patients receiving mechanical ventilation through an endotracheal tube are at increased risk for pneumonia. Because microaspiration of contaminated supraglottic secretions past the endotracheal tube cuff is considered to be central in the pathogenesis of ventilator-associated and postoperative pneumonia, better sealing of the upper trachea by the endotracheal tube cuff could possibly reduce this risk. We therefore postulated that ...