Ultrasonography measurement of glottic transverse diameter and subglottic diameter to predict endotracheal tube size in children: a prospective cohort study

We aimed to determine the correlation between mid-glottic transverse diameter/subglottic diameter and outer diameter of endotracheal tube (ETT) by ultrasonography in children. Ninety-five patients aged 1–8 years who underwent general anesthesia were included. Ultrasonography of glottic/subglottic transverse diameter was performed by two investigators after patients were anesthetized and when the train of four showed ≤ 4. The subglottic diameter was measured at the mid cricoid cartilage. The mid-glottic transverse diameter was measured at the mid-point of true vocal fold triangle whereas the distance between arytenoids was considered as the glottic transverse diameter. Linear regression models and correlation coefficients (r) were used to determine the best formula of glottic/subglottic transverse diameter to predict the outer diameter of ETT. The predicted outer diameter of ETT formula for subglottic diameter, mid-glottic transverse diameter, and glottic transverse diameter were 5.7 + (subglottic(mm)/3) with an r of 0.45, 5.5 + (midglottic(mm)/2) with an r of 0.47, and 5.7 + (glottic(mm)/4) with an r of 0.46, respectively. The correlation between subglottic diameter and mid-glottic transverse diameter was 0.50. Subglottic/mid-glottic/glottic transverse diameter formulae had moderate correlations with the outer diameter of ETT. The glottic/mid-glottic transverse diameter can be used alternatively to predict the ETT size. Trial registration: Thai Clinical Trial Registry: TCTR20191022002 Registered 22/10/2019—Prospectively registered, https://www.thaiclinicaltrials.org/# TCTR20191022002.