Endotracheal tubes in neonates: sonographic positioning.

Twenty-one real-time sonographic determinations of endotracheal tube tip position were performed in 16 neonates. Findings were compared with those from simultaneously obtained chest radiographs. Relation of the tube tip to the aortic arch provided a reliable method of determination of appropriate position. Optimal tube tip position was seen when the tube tip was 1 cm above the arch.