King et al evaluated the width of the fifth fingernail to select the diameter of an endotracheal tube for a child.
Patient selection: age from 1 month to 9 years
Parameter:
(1) width of the fifth fingernail in mm
internal diameter for the endotracheal tube =
= (width of fifth fingernail in mm)
This is more accurate than using the width of the fifth finger.
This is less accurate than estimates based on age or body length/height, but it can be used when this information is not readily available.
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Specialty: Pulmonology, Pedatrics
