Assessment of Endotracheal Tube Temperature Effects in Children Undergoing Adenotonsillectomy

Adenotonsillectomy is one of the most commonly performed surgical procedures in children worldwide. life-threatening complications such as laryngospasm and bronchospasm may develop in the postoperative period. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of using endotracheal intubation tubes at different temperatures during intubation on respiratory complications in the postoperative period in children undergoing adenotonsillectomy.

Adenotonsillectomy (AT) is one of the most common surgical procedures performed in children. Its incidence has been increasing day by day and has almost doubled since the 1970s. In recent years, with the development of surgical techniques and anesthetic approaches, significant progress has been made in the recovery and postoperative management of these patients and morbidity has decreased significantly. The most feared complications of AT in children are respiratuar complications such as laryngospasm and bronchospasm. These complications can occur during AT or in the postoperative period, requiring rapid response by the anesthesia and surgical team and extensive postoperative monitoring. They may result in increased morbidity and prolonged hospitalization. Different methods including intravenous lidocaine, topical lidocaine, propofol, iv magnesium and the like have been proposed to reduce laryngospasm; different results have been obtained in studies. Thermal softening of endotracheal tubes (ETT) with normal warm saline before intubation has been shown to be significantly effective in reducing sore throat and hoarseness during recovery and postoperatively. The aim of this study was to compare the intraoperative and postoperative respiratory effects of using endotracheal intubation tubes at different temperatures during intubation in children undergoing adenotonsillectomy.