Table 1.
Characteristics of Included Studies.
| Author | Lorente L[20] | Poelaert J[22] | Mahmoodpoor A[21] | Phillippart F[25] | Suhas P[24] | Deem S[26] |
| Published year | 2007 | 2008 | 2013 | 2015 | 2016 | 2016 |
| Setting | Medical, Spain | Surgical (post-cardiac), Belgium | Mixed, Iran | Mixed, France and Tunisia | Surgical, India | Medical, USA |
| Number of patients | 280 | 134 | 96 | 534 | 80 | 102 |
| Tracheal tube type | PU: conical cuff with SDD PVC: cylindrical cuff | PU: conical cuff PVC: cylindrical cuff | PU: cylindrical/conical cuff with SDD PVC: cylindrical | PU: cylindrical/conical cuff PVC: cylindrical/conical cuff | PU: cylindrical cuff PVC: cylindrical cuff | PU: conical cuff with and without SDD PVC: cylindrical |
| Internal diameter | NR | 8 mm for females, 9 mm for males | 7–7.5 mm for females, 8–8.5 for males | 7.5 or 8 mm | Not described | 7 mm for females 7.5 mm for males |
| Standard care | ||||||
| SSD | Yes (every hour) | N/A | Yes (every hour) | No | N/A | Yes |
| Head elevation | Yes | NR | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Enteric nutrition | Yes | NR | Yes | NR | Yes | Yes |
| Oral care | CHX (every 8 h) | NR | NR | 0.12% CHX (every 6 h) | CHX (every 4 h) | 0.12% CHX (every 8 h) |
| Ulcer prevention | H2-blocker | H2-blocker (every 8 h) | PPI or H2-blocker | PPI in case of hypocoagulability | NR | Conducted in case at risk |
| Cuff pressure | 25 cm H2O (checked every 4 h) | 20–26 cm H2O (checked every 4 h) | 20–30 mm Hg (checked every 3 h) | 25–30 cm H2O (checked every 6 h) | ≥25 cm H2O | 25–30 cm H2O (checked every 8 h) |
| PEEP | NR | NR | 5 mm Hg | ≥5 cm H2O | NR | NR |
| Duration of follow-up | During ICU stay | Within 7 days after surgery | 3 days | During ICU stay | During ICU stay | 7 days after tracheal intubation |