We sought to derive compliance curves of the trachea and esophagus. 16 fresh human cadavers were intubated tracheally and esophageally and cuff pressures measured at equal air volumes. Tracheal compliance was statistically less than esophageal compliance for volumes of 1, 2, and 3 mL of air, (p = 0.002, p = 0.008, and p = 0.006, respectively) but not so for volumes beyond that. This physical property is therefore not robust enough for detecting esophageal intubation.
Hsu CC, Lee WJ, Wu YL, Guo HR, Lin HJAssessment of a new method to distinguish esophageal from tracheal intubation by measuring the endotracheal cuff pressure in a porcine model. Acad Emerg Med. 2005;12:1153-1157.
2.
Lin HJ, Chen KT, Foo NP, Hsu CC, Guo HRDetection of oesophageal intubations using cuff pressures in a pig trachea oesophagus model. Br J Anaesth. 2007;99:740-743.
