Intubation & Airway Management Accessories

Friction or pressure between the tracheal cuff and the trachea’s sensitive mucosa can lead to irritation, ischemia and tracheal trauma.([FOOTNOTE=Liu J, Zhang X, Gong W. Correlations between controlled endotracheal tube cuff pressure and postprocedural complications: a multicenter study. Anesth Analg. 2010;111(5):1133–7.],[ANCHOR=],[LINK=])^, ([FOOTNOTE=Seegobin RD, van Hasselt GL. Endotracheal cuff pressure and tracheal mucosal blood flow: endoscopic study of effects of four large volume cuffs. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed). 1984;288(6422):965–968.],[ANCHOR=],[LINK=])

Endotracheal tubes with TaperGuard™ cuff technology have features that may help reduce the tracheal impact of intubation with a unique, taper-shaped cuff design that provides a smaller area of contact with the patient’s airway than traditional barrel-shaped cuffs.²

Tapered-Cuff Advantages

Unique TaperGuard™ cuff design:

• Exerts 29% less pressure on the trachea([FOOTNOTE=Lichtenthal PR, Wood L, Wong A, Borg U. Pressure applied to tracheal wall by barrel and taper shaped cuffs. Proc Am Soc Anesth Annual Meeting. 2011:A1054.],[ANCHOR=View Abstract],[LINK=/content/mitg/websites/languagemasters/emea/en-gb/support/clinical-evidence.html?id=805252])
• Reduces intracuff pressure required to obtain an adequate seal compared to Mallinckrodt™ Hi-Lo cuffs([FOOTNOTE=Tsuboi S, Miyashita T, Yamaguchi Y, et al.. The TaperGuard endotracheal tube intracuff pressure increase is less than that of the Hi-Lo tube during nitrous oxide exposure: a model trachea study. Anesth Analg. 2013;116: 609–612.],[ANCHOR=],[LINK=])
• Provides more uniform pressure distribution than Mallinckrodt™ Hi-Lo cuffs at equivalent intracuff pressures([FOOTNOTE=Lichtenthal PR, Wood L, Wong A, Borg U. Pressure applied to tracheal wall by barrel and taper shaped cuffs. Proc Am Soc Anesth. 2011: A1054.],[ANCHOR=],[LINK=])
• Reduces microaspiration by as much as 90% compared to Mallinckrodt™ Hi-Lo cuffs([FOOTNOTE=Lichtenthal PR, Maul D, Borg U. Do tracheal tubes prevent microaspiration? Br J Anaesth. 2011;107(5):821-822.],[ANCHOR=],[LINK=])