CT of minor intubation trauma with clinical correlations

Even when performed by an experienced physician, endotracheal intubation is more traumatic than previously supposed. Following emergency intubation, patients have little probability of having a normal larynx. One-hundred patients underwent CT scan of the larynx 6 months or more following endotracheal intubation of short duration (up to 8 h). Ten patients (Group 1) with respiratory arrest underwent emergency intubation; 90 surgical patients (Group 2) underwent anesthesia with endotracheal intubation. Indirect laryngoscopy was performed in 59 symptomatic patients. Abnormal CT findings were present in 86 out of 100 patients. CT irregularities, which included tears, scars and small laryngoceles, were noted on indirect laryngoscopy in 59 symptomatic patients. The laryngeal damage following endotracheal intubation is surprisingly high.