Elective ETT Change

[JThieman]

Does anyone electively change their ETT after so many days?

[NICU Guy, BSN, RN]

Only when there is too large of an air leak due to the growth of the baby. We try to minimize the amount of time that a patient needs to be intubated. It would seem to cause more trauma to the airway if you are routinely electively extubating and then reintubating patients. What is the benefit of routinely changing ETT tubes.