A 2 month old ex-30 week premie just discharged from the NICU comes in with respiratory distress and hypoxia. You determine that the patient needs to be intubated. The baby’s weight at discharge was 2.5 kg. What size ETT should you use?
A. 2.5 uncuffed
B. 3.0 uncuffed
C. 3.0 cuffed
D. 3.5 uncuffed
E. 3.5 cuffed
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May 9, 2017 at 9:02 am
D. 3.5 uncuffed
May 9, 2017 at 12:23 pm
C. 3.0 cuffed or D. 3.5 uncuffed
A good way to estimate ETT sizing is 2 kg, use a bigger tube. Another way to estimate ETT sizing for newly born infants if you know the gestational age is gestational age in weeks / 10. So, a 24-25 week infant gets a 2.5, and a 30 week infant gets a 3.0.