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Equations of Lee et al for Predicting Airway Length in Adults and Children

Description

Lee et al developed equations for estimating the airway length to the carina in adults and children. This can help to determine the appropriate length of an endotracheal tube and can avoid the complications associated with overinsertion of the tube. The authors are from Kyung Hee University in Seoul, South Korea.


 

Subjects: Korean children and adults

 

The key measurement is the distance from the upper incisor to manubriosternal joint (MSJ) with the patient's head fully extended. This was determined by using a large compass with one end on the upper incisor and the other at the MSJ. The distance is then read by moving the compass to a ruler and reading the ditance.

 

incisor to carina distance in an adult with the head not extended in cm =

= (0.868 * (distance with head extended in cm)) + 4.260

 

incisor to carina distance in a child with the head not extended in cm =

= (1.009 * (distance with head extended in cm)) + 0.468

 

Performance:

• r-squared was 0.88 for adults and 0.98 for children.

 


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Specialty

ICD-10