Long-term tracheal intubation practice in the United Kingdom.

A questionnaire was circulated to members of the Intensive Care Society and hospitals with more than 120 acute beds in the United Kingdom. The object was to determine the usage of the various types of cuffs on tracheal tubes and the practice of long-term tracheal intubation in contrast to tracheostomy. One hundred and fifty two replies were received (a 55% response rate). The majority of units favoured the high volume cuff for long term ventilation (61% for tracheal tubes and 69.2% for tracheostomy tubes). The cuffs were mainly inflated to 'no-leak' ventilation and pressure was not measured. The majority of units changed from tracheal tubes to tracheostomy after about one week but, for children, a longer period of tracheal intubation is employed. The results are discussed.