Comparison of Tracheal Diameter Measured by Chest X-Ray and by Computed Tomography

Assessments of tracheal diameter (TD) are important to select proper endotracheal tubes. Previous studies have used X-ray and physical indices to estimate tracheal diameter but these may not reflect the actual TD. We compared TD measured by X-ray (TD-XP) and by computer tomography (TD-CT) in 200 patients. Also, we analyzed correlation of TD-CT with physical indices such as age, height, weight, and BMI. TD-XP and TD-CT were significantly correlated (male: n = 55, P = .0146; female: n = 91, P = .001). TD-XP was 0.4 mm wider in male and 1.0 mm wider in female than TD-CT. However, correlation coefficients of TD-XP and TD-CT are very weak (male: r = 0.36; female: r = 0.653). TD-CT did not correlate with age, height, weight, or BMI. Our findings suggest that correlations of TD-XP and TD are statistically significant but not clinically significant. Physical indices are not useful to estimate TD.