聲門下分泌物抽吸與氣管黏膜傷害的關聯性

Ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) will not only increase patients' mortality rate but also accrue the consumption of medical resources. Prevention of VAP is thus an important issue in patients who are under ventilation support. Many research reports and medical societies have suggested the use of subglottic secretion drainage (SSD) endotracheal tubes. Micro or macro aspiration secretion may be minimized by performing subglottic suctioning and therefore, decrease the incidence of VAP. Although, many of the study results have supported the use of the subglottic secretion drainage technique and SSD endotracheal tubes, it is not without sequelae. Several researches have pointed out that subglottic secretion suction could induce tracheal mucosa injury. This report is to review and verify the association between subglottic secretion drainage and tracheal mucosa injury. We have learnt that the chance of tracheal mucosa injury is higher when using automatic continuous suction, than using the intermittent high pressure suction technique. The most optimal suction technique to prevent VAP while avoiding tracheal mucosa injury has not been determined.