Mechanisms responsible for the sustained fall in arterial oxygen tension after endotracheal suctioning in dogs.

Because a sustained fall in arterial oxygen tension (PaO2) was observed after endotracheal suctioning in previous studies on anesthetized dogs and in humans, this study was designed to investigate the nature of the fall, its duration, and its response to several challenges. Experiments were performed at weekly intervals using three anesthetized dogs. Each dog was subjected to five experiments.

The effectiveness of hourly cuff deflation in minimizing tracheal damage.

The efficacy of hourly endotracheal tube cuff deflations in minimizing tracheal damage has not been clearly established. Two investigations which specifically address this question arrive at differing conclusions. These investigations fail to report important variables which may have explained the difference in their results.