Objective To investigate the pressure changes of cuff in the tapered-cuff endotracheal tubes and the frequency of cuff pressure monitoring in patient with trachea intubation. Methods From December 2016 to October 2017, 80 patients with oral tracheal intubation in the emergency department were divided into group A (n =25) and group B (n =23) according to the principle of randomized control. Group A with odd number was treated and tapered-cuff endotracheal tubes and group B with ever number and cylindrical-cuff endotracheal tubes. Continuous cuff pressure monitoring device was used to continuously monitor the cuff pressure. The two groups were compared in terms of time for keeping the normal cuff pressure and cuff pressure (average pressure, maximum pressure and minimum pressure). Results The total time for keeping the normal cuff pressure in group A was significantly shorter than that in group B (P＜0.05). The average cuff pressure in group A was smaller than that of group B (P＜0.05). The maximum pressure in group A is larger than that in group B and the maximum cuff pressure in group A was smaller than that of group B (P＜0.05). Conclusion Compared with the cylindrical cuff catheter, the tapered-cuff tube can maintain the normal pressure for a shorter period and easily produce needed pressure. It is a need to enhance the monitoring of cuff pressure to ensure good airway closure and reduce artificial airway complications.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the correlation between the severity of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) and red cell distribution width (RDW) in elderly patients. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 311 elderly patients diagnosed with OSAS in the snoring clinic between January, 2015 and October, 2016 and 120 healthy controls without OSAS from physical examination populations in the General Hospital of PLA. The subjects were divided into control group with apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) <5 (=120), mild OSAS group (AHI of 5.0-14.9; =90), moderate OSAS group (AHI of 15.0-29.9; =113) and severe OSAS group (AHI ≥ 30; =108). The clinical characteristics and the results of polysomnography, routine blood tests and biochemical tests of the subjects were collected. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to examine the correlation between OSAS severity and RDW. RESULTS: The levels of RDW and triglyceride were significantly higher in severe OSAS group than in the other groups ( < 0.01). The levels of fasting blood glucose and body mass index were significantly higher in severe and moderate OSAS groups than in mild OSAS group and control group ( < 0.05 or < 0.01). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that AHI was positively correlated with body mass index (β=0.111, =0.032) and RDW (β=0.106, =0.029). The area under ROC curve of RDW for predicting the severity of OSAS was 0.687 (=0.0001). CONCLUSIONS The RDW increases as OSAS worsens and may serve as a potential marker for evaluating the severity of OSAS.
Aged ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Erythrocyte Indices ; Humans ; Polysomnography ; Severity of Illness Index ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive