2023 Volume 126 Issue 3 Pages 200-207
Morphometrics of the trachea provides useful information to otolaryngologists undertaking clinical interventions such as tracheostomy and tracheostomy tube management. The aim of this study was to measure the morphometrics of the tracheal rings in Japanese subjects. In addition, we examined whether it might be possible to predict the appropriate size of tracheostomy tube for patients from the transverse dimension of the trachea.
This study was conducted in 60 patients who underwent ultra-high resolution computed tomography (UHRCT) for the diagnosis and treatment of laryngeal diseases. Patients with perichondritis, tracheostomy, and hypopharyngeal and/or laryngeal carcinoma were excluded. The morphometric measurements were eventually conducted in 44 patients (average age: men, 60.3 years; women, 46.1 years; male/female ratio, 31/13), while the dimeters of the tracheal lumen at the level of various tracheal rings were measured in 46 patients (average age; men, 58.8 years; women, 49.8 years; male/female ratio, 34/12).
The mean transverse and sagittal dimensions at the level of the second tracheal ring were 19.2 mm and 18.8 mm in men, and 13.9 mm and 14.0 mm in women, retrospectively. Both the transverse and sagittal dimensions were significantly greater in men as compared with women (Both, p<0.01). No significant difference in the transverse or sagittal dimension at the level of the second tracheal ring was observed between the men and women in this study. The mean transverse and sagittal dimensions at a level above the top of the aortic arch were 21.1 mm and 19.2 mm in men and 16.0 mm and 15.6 mm in women, retrospectively. In regard to the morphometrics of the second tracheal ring, an elliptical shape and C-shape of the tracheal lumen were the most common, while at the level of the seventh tracheal ring, a U shape was the most common.
Our study suggests that the transverse and sagittal dimensions of the trachea in Japanese adults are clinically significant parameters for the selection and management of tracheostomy tubes.
