Heart & lung : the journal of critical care
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Endotracheal suctioning in adults with head injury.
The purpose of this study was to determine the method of endotracheal suctioning (ETS) that resulted in the least compromise to the cerebrovascular status of adult patients with severe head injuries. A two-group (two vs three ETS), two-protocol (100% tidal volume [VT] vs 135% VT) design was used. The dependent variables were mean intracranial pressure (MICP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP), heart rate (HR), and oxygen saturation (SaO2). ⋯ No significant difference was found for SaO2 for either of the protocols regardless of number of suction passes. No significant differences were found between two- and three-ETS groups for any of the dependent variables. All groups, however, regardless of number of suction passes, demonstrated a cumulative increase in MICP, MAP, and CPP with each consecutive suction sequence.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)