CHEST Guidelines-Does-Cuff-Material-and-Design-Help-Prevent-Ventila

Does-Cuff-Material-and-Design-Help-Prevent-Ventila_16

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The response to Dr. Poelaert from authors Drs. Marcos I. Restrepo, Juan F. Fernandez, and Stephanie M. Levine is in reference to his comments on their earlier article about endotracheal tubes aimed at preventing ventilator-associated pneumonia. Dr. Poelaert had conducted a study where patients scheduled for cardiac surgery were randomly assigned different types of endotracheal tubes (ETTs). In his correspondence, Dr. Poelaert indicated that the Sealguard ETT in his study was barrel-shaped, which was different from a tapered shape mentioned on the manufacturer’s website. The authors of the response state that the exact shape of the ETT was not specified in either Dr. Poelaert’s or Lorente et al.'s publications. They call attention to this as an important limitation in the literature, advocating for future studies to detail both the material and the shape of ETTs. Their review, they argue, was based on available information at the time.<br /><br />Moreover, separate from the aforementioned discussion, the article briefly touches on the development of a thoracic ultrasound (TUS) training course, in light of its growing utilization for pleural interventions. The British Thoracic Society has recognized the increasing demand for TUS courses, driven by training curricula in multiple specialties necessitating skill acquisition in TUS. They point out the importance of image guidance in pleural fluid procedures and nonradiology physicians achieving safety profiles comparable to radiologists when appropriately trained.<br /><br />The authors acknowledge a funding source, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, for Dr. Restrepo but clarify the sponsor had no role in the study’s design or manuscript preparation. Dr. Restrepo disclosed associations with pharmaceutical companies, while Drs. Fernandez and Levine reported no conflicts of interest.

Keywords

endotracheal tubes

ventilator-associated pneumonia

Dr. Poelaert

Sealguard ETT

thoracic ultrasound

pleural interventions

British Thoracic Society

training courses

National Heart Lung and Blood Institute

conflicts of interest