New Measures for Tracheobronchial Anatomy

The right-sided double lumen endobronchial tube (R-DLT) is seldom. The principal cause of reticence for using the R-DLT are the difficult positioning of its lateral orifice in front of the origin of the right upper lobe (RUL) and the variability of the length of the right main stem bronchus (RMSB). Both the angle between the right upper lobe (RUL) bronchus origin and the RMSB and the length of the RMSB can be measured with high resolution CT-scan. These measures can be useful in clinical practice as they help to determine when a R-DLT should not be used or used with caution when facing a large variation of the angle of the RUL or a proximal implantation of a RUL bronchus .