Microbial investigation of biofilms recovered from endotracheal tubes using sonication in intensive care unit pediatric patients.

Objectives: To compare cultured microorganisms identified on endotracheal tubes biofilms through sonication technique with traditional tracheal aspirate collected at extubation of pediatric intensive care unit patients.

Methods: Demographic and epidemiological data were analyzed to identify factors possibly related with the microbiological profile of the two collection methods. Associations between categorical and continuous variables were analyzed using the chi-square or Fisher's exact test, or Student's t test.