TUBE SIZES IN PEDIATRICS
---------------------------------------
---------------------------------------
You decided to intubate a child and wisely remembered that you should also follow with an NG/ OG after intubation to decompress the stomach.
In order to avoid the blank stare when asked "what size"?
Here's a nice mneumonic about Pediatric "tube" sizes... easy as
1-2-3-4
Please note ETT = endotracheal tube size
1x ETT = (age/4) + 4 (formula for uncuffed tubes)
2x ETT = NG/ OG/ foley size
3x ETT = depth of ETT insertion
4x ETT = chest tube size (max, e.g. hemothorax)
So for example, a 4-year-old child would get intubated with a 5-0 ETT inserted to depth of 15 cm (3x ETT), a 10Fr NG/OG/foley (2x ETT), and a 20Fr chest tube (4x ETT)
.
.
Also, remember that you can use cuffed tubes in any child except neonates but the formula needs to be adjusted as follows:
cuffed endotracheal tube ID (mm) = (age/4) + 3.5
