Replacing a double-lumen tube with a single-lumen tube or a laryngeal mask airway device to reduce coughing at emergence after thoracic surgery: a randomized controlled single-blind trial

Background Coughing episodes occur frequently at extubation after thoracic surgery, and this may be due in part to the double-lumen tube (DLT). In this study, the DLT was replaced with either a single-lumen endotracheal tube (ETT) or a laryngeal mask airway (LMA) device or left in place, and the incidence of coughing at emergence was compared between the three groups.