Long-term effects of saline instilled during endotracheal suction in pediatric intensive care: A randomized trial

Abstract

Background Saline instillation is still used to assist in removal of secretions from endotracheal tubes in some pediatric intensive care units. Objective To compare the effect of using either no saline, quarter-normal (0.225%) saline, or normal (0.9%) saline during endotracheal suctioning of children receiving ventilatory support in a pediatric intensive care unit. Method An unblinded, randomized trial with 3 treatment groups was conducted with 427 children who received ventilatory support for at least 12 hours. Children were randomly assigned to receive no saline, 0.225% saline, or 0.9% saline during routine endotracheal suctioning. Results The primary outcome was the number of hours of inv..