Effect of endotracheal tube lubrication on cuff pressure increase during nitrous oxide exposure: a laboratory and prospective randomized controlled trial.

Background: We previously demonstrated that lubrication of an endotracheal tube (ETT) cuff with K-Y™ jelly strongly and significantly inhibited the increase in cuff pressure during nitrous oxide (NO) exposure in vitro. However, in our previous study, we identified critical differences between some influential factors, such as the amount of lubricant retained on the cuff, and studied temperature differences between laboratory and clinical conditions. Therefore, it remained unclear whether this effect holds true in clinical settings.