Chest x-ray: ET tube position (summary)
Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data
Citation:
Jones J, Hacking C, Bell D, et al. Chest x-ray: ET tube position (summary). Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 02 Mar 2025) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-31404
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rID:
31404
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Disclosures:
At the time the article was created Jeremy Jones had no recorded disclosures.
View Jeremy Jones's current disclosures
Last revised:
Disclosures:
At the time the article was last revised Craig Hacking had no recorded disclosures.
View Craig Hacking's current disclosures
Revisions:
11 times, by
5 contributors -
see full revision history and disclosures
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This is a basic article for medical students and other non-radiologists
Chest x-ray ET (endotracheal) tube position should be assessed following initial placement and on subsequent radiographs.
Reference article
This is a summary article; we have a more in-depth reference article, see ETT.
Summary
-
normal
- tip 5 cm above carina
- width 2/3 tracheal diameter
- cuff should not expand the trachea
-
malposition
- tip may extend past the carina
- malposition most commonly seen is the tip in the right main bronchus
-
change in position
- ET tube tip position is dependent on head position
- tip position changes depending on neck flexion/extension
- tip position may change by up to 2 cm
- neck flexion moves the tip downwards
- neck extension moves the tip upwards
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