Articles: intubation.
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There is an increase in endotracheal tube-cuff volume and pressure due to nitrous oxide diffusion into the cuff during anaesthesia. A rise of the cuff pressure up to 100 mm Hg (high volume-low pressure cuffs!) within only two hours is nothing out of the ordinary. The inspiratory nitrous oxide concentration influences the cuff pressure rises. ⋯ In endotracheal tubes with a Rediffusion System, cuff pressure never exceeds capillary perfusion pressure of the tracheal mucosa. In our in vitro-experiments we found an increase of cuff pressure from 14.2 +/- 0.5 mm Hg to only 27.3 +/- 1.9 mm Hg within six hours (FIN2O = 0.66). Within 150 minutes of endotracheal anaesthesia (FIN2O = 0.66) cuff pressure rose from 14.6 +/- 0.5 mm Hg to only 21.5 +/- 3.6 mm Hg.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)