[Measurements of cuff pressure of different low pressure cuffed endotracheal tubes under mechanical ventilation (author's transl)].

Three different low pressure cuffed endotracheal tubes (Lanz, Portex soft-seal, Kamen-Wilkinson) were studied in cadaver tracheas and patients in our intensive care unit during ventilation. In the air filled low pressure cuffs without controlled pressure system the cuff pressure and the ventilation pressure are almost identical. Rises of intrathoracic pressure during mechanical ventilation are reflected by increased cuff pressure. Tubes with controlled pressure system or foam-filled cuffs have lower peak cuff pressures, especially during sighing, coughing and suctioning.