The Influence of Endotracheal Tube Design on Fluid Leakage Into the Lungs During Surgery

Surgical patients have an endotracheal tube inserted into their windpipe to help them breathe while under general anesthesia. These tubes have a "cuff" on the outside that is inflated in the trachea to help prevent fluids from leaking into the lungs. These cuffs come in different shapes and sizes. The TaperGuard endotracheal tube has a taper-shaped cuff that has been shown in animals to decrease the leakage of fluid past the cuff better than a traditional tube that has a barrel-shaped cuff. This study is designed to examine whether the use of the TaperGuard tube during surgery on humans decreases the amount of leakage past the cuff to a greater degree than the traditional barrel-shaped cuff. In addition, the study will investigate whether the use of the TaperGuard tube is associated with a decrease in respiratory complications often seen following surgery which may be related to fluid leaking past the cuff and into the lungs. It is thought that the use of the TaperGuard endotracheal tube will result in a decrease in fluid leakage past the cuff and that it will be associated with a decrease in respiratory complications during the 30 days after surgery.