Avaliação das Pressões Intra-Cuff em Pacientes na Unidade de Terapia Intensiva e sua Relação com Casos de Pneumonia Nosocomial

In routine hospital practice there is either no measurement of intra-cuff pressure, or, when it exists, it is carried out indirectly. Routine intra-cuff pressure measurement is required to avoid complications. Current study analyzes measurements of several intra-cuff pressures in ICU patients and correlates them with cases of hospital pneumonia associated with mechanical ventilation. A longitudinal study, divided into two stages, with 32 patients, was undertaken. Whereas the first phase comprised the analysis of15 clinical charts reporting hospital pneumonia, the second one comprised intra-cuff pressure correlated with the onset of pneumonia associated with mechanical ventilation. Chart analysis indicated an incidence of five cases of pneumonia (33.3%). In the second phase, conducted with 17 patients, five new cases (29.4%) were reported. In 140 measurements the average pressure was 75.7 ± 37.3 cm H2O; pressure was above limit in about 82.1% of pressure measurements; 7.1% was below the minimum limit; only 10.7% was within normal limits. Results show that routine and reliable measuring of intra-cuff pressure as a prophylactic measure should be established. Reliable pressure measurement, however, requires a training program for professionals within a multidisciplinary milieu.