Tracheal size variability is associated with sex: implications for endotracheal tube selection.

Purpose: Whereas selection of endotracheal tube (ETT) size in pediatric patients benefits from predictive nomograms, adult ETT sizing is relatively arbitrary. We sought to determine associations between cervical tracheal cross-sectional area (CTCSA) and clinical variables.

Methods: One hundred thirty-two consecutive patients undergoing noncontrasted chest computed tomography (CT) at a single tertiary care institution from January 2010 to June 2011 were reviewed. Patients with improper CT technique, endotracheal intubation, and pulmonary/tracheal pathology were excluded. Tracheal luminal diameters in anteroposterior (D1) and transverse (D2) were measured 2 cm inferior to the cricoid and used to determine CTCSA = π*D1*D2*¼. The demographic variables of age, height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) were tested for association with CTCSA by Spearman correlation. Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used to compare CTCSA by race and sex. Multivariate linear regression was performed including all clinical variables.

Results: There were 91 patients who met inclusion criteria. There was no correlation between age, weight, or BMI and CTCSA. There was a significant positive correlation between patient height and CTCSA (P = .001, R = 0.35); however, this was confounded by sex. Female patients had significantly smaller CTCSA (mean = 241 mm(2)) compared to male patients (mean = 349 mm(2), P < .001). Multivariate linear regression stratified by sex revealed that height is correlated with CTCSA only in males (P = .028). Males also had more variability in CTCSA (SD 118.6) compared to females (SD 65.5).

Conclusion: Our data suggest that selection of ETT size in male patients should include height as a predictive factor. For female patients, it may be appropriate to select a uniformly smaller diameter ETT size.