A simple method to predict pretracheal tissue thickness to prevent accidental decannulation in the obese.

OBJECTIVE: Accidental decannulation is the most common and serious complication associated with tracheostomy in obese patients. We lack a simple way to choose appropriate-size tracheostomy tubes in this patient subset. Our purpose was to 1) establish the range of trachea-to-skin soft tissue thickness (TTSSTT) in obese patients and 2) determine which easily obtained anthropometric measurements are most predictive of TTSSTT.STUDY DESIGN: Case series with planned data collection.SETTING: Tertiary care center.SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Forty consenting patients with body mass index ranging from 30 to 70 were evaluated. These patients, from a bariatric clinic, underwent ultrasound (US) of the neck in predetermined sitting, supine, and neck-extended positions (as for tracheostomy). US was performed by a qualified radiologist. Standard anthropometric measurements of weight, height, arm, hip, waist, and neck sizes were performed. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine which anthropometric measurements best...