Subglottic Literature Review
Ver 12.04.25
Subglottic Suctioning Literature Review
Ventilator Associated Pneumonia Prevention Bundle
Continuous or frequent intermittent suctioning of subglottic secretions, via an endotracheal tube
(ETT) specially designed with a dorsal lumen to accommodate this, is associated with up to a 50%
decreased incidence of aspiration and VAP. Guidelines support the use of subglottic suctioning
and drainage for patients dependent on mechanical ventilation.
Most recently in 2011, a systematic review and meta-analysis of 13 randomized trials support the
use of subglottic drainage for VAP prevention. The 2011 analysis found a 45% reduction of VAP
along with a 1.5 days reduction in length of stay and 1.1 days of ventilation.
* Articles reference effect on cardiocsurgical population.
2008 -Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America Guidelines: A guideline of practical recommendations
to assist acute care hospitals in implementing and prioritizing their ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP)
prevention efforts.1

Recommends the use of cuffed ETT with in line subglottic suction to prevent aspiration and reduce VAP risk
factor.
Articles Cited in Guideline
Study Type and Author
Systematic Meta-Analysis
Drainage vs. Standard
(Dezfulian, 2005)2
CDC Guideline- 20033
Review
(Kollef, 2004)4
Continuous vs. Closed Lumen Care
(Valles, 1995)5
* Continuous vs. w/o Suctioning
(Kollef, 1999)6
Contempo
(Cook, 1998)7
Drainage vs. Sucralfate
(Mahul, 1992)8
Results - Details in Annotated Bibliography
Pro- Analyzed 5 RCT to assess the efficacy of subglottic secretion drainage
in preventing VAP. Study showed that subglottic secretion drainage can
reduced the incidence of VAP by nearly half in patients requiring
mechanical ventilation.
Pro - If feasible, use an endotracheal tube with a dorsal lumen above the
endotracheal cuff to allow drainage (by continuous or frequent intermittent
suctioning) of tracheal secretions that accumulate in the patient’s subglottic
area. (See CDC Section)
Pro-This review did not specifically address subglottic suctioning.
However, it recommended the use of endotracheal tube with separate
dorsal lumen based on the beneficial effect on lowering VAP incidences.
Pro- Study focused on ICU patients expected to be intubated for >3 days.
The study findings conclude that the incidence of nosocomial pneumonia in
mechanically ventilated patients can be significantly reduced by using
continues subglottic suctioning through the dorsal lumen.
Pro- Study focused on cardiothoracic c surgery patients requiring
mechanical ventilation. Findings showed that the occurrence of VAP can be
significantly delayed with the use of continuous aspiration of subglottic
secretion.
Pro- This article did not focus on suctioning, but summarized 12 studies
that evaluate risk factors for ICU-acquired pneumonia in critically ill patients.
One of the VAP risk factors identified was failed subglottic suctioning.
Pro- Study focused patients requiring mechanical ventilation for >3 days.
Findings showed subglottic drainage was effective at lowering nosocomial
pneumonia, but sucralfate prevention was not.
CSTS –Appendix C: Literature Review Subglottic Suctioning
© Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality, Johns Hopkins Medicine
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Subglottic Literature Review
Ver 12.04.25
2008-Canadian VAP Prevention Guidelines: Evidence-based, clinical practice guidelines for the prevention of
ventilator-associated pneumonia1

Subglottic Secretion Drainage is recommended for patients requiring to be mechanically ventilated for more
than 72hrs.
Articles Cited in Guideline
Study Type and Author
Drainage vs. Conventional Oral ETT
(Smulders, 2002)9
Drainage vs. Control
(Bo, 2000)10
Continuous vs. Closed Lumen Care
(Valles, 1995)5
Drainage vs. Sucralfate
(Mahul, 1992)8
Results - Details in Annotated Bibliography
Pro- Study focused on ICU patients expected to be
mechanical ventilated >72 h. Findings showed that intermittent subglottic
secretion drainage reduces the rate of VAP in patient receiving
mechanical ventilation.
Pro- Study focused on surgical patients who required intubation. Study
showed that the morbidity of VAP can be reduced by using subglottic
secretion drainage; especially for gram- positive cocci and Haemophilius
influenzae caused VAP cases.
Pro- Study focused on medical and surgical patients requiring prolonged
intubation (> 3 days). Findings conclude that the incidence of
nosocomial pneumonia in mechanically ventilated patients can be
significantly reduced by using continues subglottic suctioning.
(Previously cited by SHEA)
Pro- Study focused on patients who required mechanical ventilation for
> 3 days. Findings showed that subglottic drainage was effective at
reducing nosocomial pneumonia, but sucralfate prevention was not.
(Previously cited by SHEA )
2004-Guidelines for the management of adults with hospital-acquired, ventilator-associated, and healthcareassociated pneumonia. 11

Recommends the use of specifically designed ETT with dorsal lumen for the continues aspiration of
subglottic secretion.
Articles Cited in Guideline
Study Type and Author
*Continuous vs. w/o Suctioning
(Kollef, 1999) 6
Continuous vs. Closed Lumen Care
(Valles, 1995) 5
Drainage vs. Sucralfate
(Mahul, 1992) 8
Results - Details in Annotated Bibliography
Pro- Study focused on cardiothoracic surgery patients requiring mechanical
ventilation. Findings showed that VAP occurrence can be significantly
delayed with the use of continuous aspiration of subglottic secretion.
(
Previously cited by SHEA )
Pro- Study focused on patients requiring prolonged intubation (> 3 days) in
the medical – surgical ICU. Findings conclude that the incidence of
nosocomial pneumonia in mechanically ventilated patients can be
significantly reduced by using continues suctioning. ( Previously cited by
SHEA, and ZAP )
Pro- Study focused on patients who required mechanically ventilated for
more than 3 days. Study showed that the prevention of micro-aspiration
with the use of subglottic drainage was effective at reducing nosocomial
pneumonia, but sucralfate prevention was not.
(Previously cited by SHEA and ZAP)
CSTS –Appendix C: Literature Review Subglottic Suctioning
© Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality, Johns Hopkins Medicine
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Subglottic Literature Review
Ver 12.04.25
2003- CDC Guidelines for preventing Health-Care-Associated Pneumonia; Evidence-based, clinical practice guidelines for the
prevention of healthcare-associated pneumonia, including VAP. 3

Recommends the use of an ETT dorsal lumen above the endotracheal cuff to allow drainage by continuous or
frequent intermittent suctioning of tracheal secretion that accumulates in patient’s subgltottic area.
Articles Cited in Guideline
Study Type and Author
Intermittent Drainage vs. Standard ETT
(Smulders, 2002) 9
*Continuous vs. w/o Suctioning
(Kollef, 1999) 6
Contempo
(Cook, 1998)7
Continuous vs. Closed Lumen ETT
(Valles, 1995) 5
Drainage vs. Sucralfate
(Mahul,1992)8
Results - Details in Annotated Bibliography
Pro- Study focused on ICU patients expected to be mechanical ventilated
>72 h .Findings showed that intermittent subglottic secretion drainage
reduces the rate of VAP in patient receiving mechanical ventilation.
Pro- Study focused on cardiothoracic c surgery patients requiring
mechanical ventilation. Findings showed that the occurrence of VAP can be
significantly delayed with the use of continuous aspiration of subglottic
secretion. (Previously cited by SHEA and ATS)
Pro- This article did not focus on suctioning, but summarized 12 studies
that evaluate risk factors for ICU-acquired pneumonia in critically ill
patients. One of the VAP risk factors identified was failed subglottic
suctioning. (Previously cited by SHEA)
Pro- Study focused on patients requiring prolonged intubation (> 3 days) in
the medical – surgical intensive care unit. Findings conclude that the
incidence of nosocomial pneumonia in mechanically ventilated patients can
be significantly reduced by using continues suctioning. ( Previously by
SHEA,ZAP , ATS above )
Pro- Study focused on patients who required mechanically ventilated
patient for more than 3 days. Study findings conclude that the prevention of
micro-aspiration with the use of subglottic drainage was effective at
reducing nosocomial pneumonia, but sucralfate prevention was not.
(Previously cited by SHEA, ATS , and ZAP)
Post Guideline Publications:
Post Guideline Publications, 2007-2012
Study Type and Author
Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
(Leasure,2012)12
Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
(Muscedere, 2011)13
Intermittent Drainage vs. Closed Suctioning
System
(Juneja,2011)14
Cost Benefit Analysis
Conventional Tubes vs. Continuous
Subglottic Suctioning Tubes
(Hallais, 2011)15
Business Case
Continues ETT vs. Standard ETT
(Speroni ,2011)16
Results - Details in Annotated Bibliography
Pro- Study reviewed 12 original articles and 4 reviews that evaluated the
effectiveness of subglottic secretion drainage (SDD) in reducing the
occurrence of VAP. The findings of review support the recommendation for
use of ETTs with SSD based on a 52% reduction rate.
Pro- Study focused on 13 RCTs evaluating subglottic secretion drainage in
adult mechanically ventilated patients. Study findings support the use of
subglottic endotracheal tube in reduction rate of VAP.
Pro - Study focused on patients requiring mechanical ventilation for more
than 72 hours. Study findings conclude that intermittent subglottic drainage
reduces the incidence of VAP.
Pro- Study in France analyzed the cost benefit of 416 surgical ICU patients
receiving mechanical ventilation for 3,487 ventilation days. Finding showed
replacing conventional ventilator tubes with continuous subglottic suctioning
tubes were cost the cost averted per VAP episode is €1,383.69.
Pro- Study was focused on medical and surgical ICU patients who were
expected to be ventilated for >48 hrs. Study findings recommend the use of
Continues -ETT over Standard S-ETT based on the final attributable cost of
VAP.
CSTS –Appendix C: Literature Review Subglottic Suctioning
© Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality, Johns Hopkins Medicine
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Subglottic Literature Review
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Systematic Review
(Overend, 2009)17
Literature Review
(Depew, 2007)18
Pro- Analyzed 15 RCT and 13 RCO of mechanically ventilated adult
patients. Study showed that new evidence continues to be varied in
strength for suctioning practice, but the evidence has improved since 2001
suggesting that members of the health care team should incorporate this
evidence into their practice.
Pro- Review of meta-analysis 2 that looked at 5RCT that compared
aspiration of subglottic secretion vs. standard ETT care. Findings conclude
that there insufficient outcome evidence to support the use of subglottic
technology – aside from the VAP rate reduction.
Annotated Bibliography
1. Coffin S, MD, Klompas M, MD, Classen D, MD, et al. Strategies to prevent Ventilator‐Associated pneumonia in acute care hospitals.
Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology. 2008;29(S1, A Compendium of Strategies to Prevent Healthcare‐Associated Infections in
Acute Care Hospitals):pp. S31-S40. Available from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/591062.
2. Dezfulian C, Shojania K, Collard HR, Kim HM, Matthay MA, Saint S. Subglottic secretion drainage for preventing ventilatorassociated pneumonia:A meta-analysis. American Journal of Medicine. 2005;11-18(118).
Pro- Meta Analysis – Drainage vs. Standard Endtracheal Treatment - Study evaluated 896 patients from 5 RCT who required mechanical ventilation. Subglottic
secretion drainage reduced the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia by nearly half (risk ratio [RR] = 0.51; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.37 to
0.71), primarily by reducing early-on set pneumonia (pneumonia occurring within 5 to 7 days after intubation). Subglottic secretion drainage appears
effective in preventing early-onset ventilator-associated pneumonia among patients expected to require >72 hours of mechanical ventilation.
3. Tablan OC, Anderson LJ, Besser R, Bridges C, Hajjeh R. Guidleines for preventing healthcare-associated pneumonia, 2003:
Recommendations of CDC and the healthcare infection control practices advisory committee. MMWR Recomm Rep. 2004;53:1-36.
4. Kollef MH. Prevention of hospital-associated pneumonia and ventilator-associated pneumonia. Crit Care Med. 2004;32(6):13961405.
Pro- Review - Synthesized the available clinical data for the prevention of hospital-associated pneumonia (HAP) and ventilator- associated pneumonia (VAP) This
review did not specifically address subglottic suctioning, but recommends the use of endotracheal tube with separate dorsal lumen based on 4 papers that
showed beneficial effect.
5. Valles J, Artigas A, Rello J, et al. Continuous aspiration of subglottic secretions in preventing ventilator-associated pneumonia.
Annals of Internal Medicine. 1995(122):179–186.
Pro- Continuous vs. Closed Lumen ETT - Study focused on 190 ICU patients expected to be intubated for >3 days. The incidence rate of VAP was 19.9
episodes/1000 ventilator days in the patients receiving continuous aspiration of subglottic secretions and 39.6 episodes/1000 ventilator days in the
control patients (closed lumen ETT) (relative risk, 1.98; 95% CI, 1.03 to 3.82). Episodes of ventilator-associated pneumonia developed later in patients
receiving continuous aspiration (12.0 ± 7.1 days) than in the control patients (5.9 ± 2.1 days) (P < 0.001).This difference was due to a significant (P < 0.03)
reduction in the number of gram-positive cocci and Haemophilus influenzae organisms in the patients receiving continuous aspiration.
6. Kollef MH, Skubas NJ, Sundt TM. A randomized clinical trial of continuous aspiration of subglottic secretions in cardiac surgery
patients. Chest. 1999;116(5):1339-1346.
Pro- Continuous vs. w/o Suctioning - Study focused on 371 cardiac surgery patient requiring mechanical ventilation in the Cardiothoracic ICU. VAP was seen in 8
patients (5.0%) receiving continues suctioning and in 15 patients (8.2%) receiving routine postoperative medical care without suctioning (relative risk,
0.61%; 95% confidence interval, 0.27 to 1.40; p = 0.238). Episodes of VAP occurred statistically later among patients receiving continuous suctioning
([mean ± SD] 5.6 ± 2.3 days) than among patients who did not receive suctioning (2.9 ± 1.2 days); (p = 0.006). No statistically significant differences for
hospital mortality, overall duration of mechanical ventilation, lengths of stay in the hospital or CTICU, or acquired organ system derangements were found between
the two treatment groups. The occurrence of VAP can be significantly delayed among patients undergoing cardiac surgery using this simple-to-apply
technique of continuous suctioning.
7. Cook DJ, Kollef MH. Risk factors for ICU-acquired pneumonia. JAMA. 1998;279(20):1605-1606.
Pro- This review did not focus on subglottic suctioning intervention, but summarizes 12 studies that evaluate risk factors for ICU-acquired pneumonia in critically ill
patients. One of the VAP risk factors identified was failed subglottic suctioning.
8. Mahul P, Auboyer C, Jospe R, et al. Prevention of nosocomial pneumonia in intubated patients: Respective role of mechanical
subglottic secretions drainage and stress ulcer prophylaxis. Intensive Care Medecine. 1992(18):20-25.
Pro- Drainage vs. Sucralfate - Study focused 145 patients who required mechanically ventilated for > 3 days. Subglottic secretion drainage (SSD) treatment
was associated with: a) a twice lower incidence of nosocomial pneumonia (NP) (no-SSD: 29.1%, SSD: 13%); b) a prolonged time of onset of NP (noSSD: 8.3±5 days, SSD: 16.2±11 days); c) a decrease in the colonization rate from admission to end-point day in tracheal aspirates (no-SSD:+21.3%,
SSD:+6.6%) and in subglottic secretions (no-SSD:+33.4%, SSD:+2.1%). Study findings conclude that the prevention of micro-aspiration with the use of
subglottic drainage was effective at reducing nosocomial pneumonia, but sucralfate prevention was not.
9. Smulders K, van der Hoeven H, Weers-Pothoff I, Vandenbroucke-Grauls C. A randomized clinical trial of intermittent subglottic
secretion drainage in patients receiving mechanical ventilation. Chest. 2002;121(3):858-862.
Pro- Intermittent Drainage vs. Standard ETT - Study focused on 150 patient expected to be mechanical ventilated >72 h the general ICU. VAP was seen in 3
patients (4%) receiving suction secretion drainage and in 12 patients (16%) in the control group (relative risk, 0.22; 95% confidence interval, 0.06 to
0.81; p = 0.014). Intermittent subglottic secretion drainage reduces the incidence of VAP in patients receiving mechanical ventilation.
10. Bo H. Influence of the subglottic secretion drainage on the morbidity of ventilator associated pneumonia in mechanically ventilated
patients. . Chinese J Tuberc Respir Dis. 2000(23):472-4.
Pro- Drainage vs. Control - Study focused on 68 patients who required intubation in the surgical ICU. The morbidity of VAP in the drainage group (n = 35)
(23%) was lower than that in the control group (n = 33) (45%) (P < 0.05). The difference was due to the significant reduction of VAP caused by gram-positive
cocci and Haemophilus influenzae organisms. However, no difference was observed in the incidence of VAP caused by non-fermental bacteria. After intubation
CSTS –Appendix C: Literature Review Subglottic Suctioning
© Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality, Johns Hopkins Medicine
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Subglottic Literature Review
Ver 12.04.25
the onset of VAP was delayed in drainage group (14 +/- 8 day) as compared with the control group (6 +/- 4 day) (P < 0.05). The same organisms were
isolated among 61% (14/23) patients with VAP as what were previously isolated from the subglottic secretions. The presence of subglottic secretion may be
an origin of the pathogenetic organisms of VAP. The morbidity of VAP in mechanically ventilated patients can be reduced by drainage , especially for
VAP caused by gram-positive cocci and Haemophilus influenzae organisms. Subglottic secretion drainage may be a simple and effective method for
prevention of VAP.
11. American Thoracic Society, Infectious Diseases Society of America. Guidelines for the management of adults with hospitalacquired, ventilator-associated, and healthcare-associated pneumonia. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2005;171(4):388-416.
12. Leasure A, Stirlen J, Lu S. Prention of ventilator- associated penyumonia through aspiration of subglottic secreations: A systematic
review and meta-analysis. Dimensions of Crital Care Nursing. 2012;31(2):102-117.
Pro- Systematic Review & Meta Analysis - Study reviewed 12 original articles and 4 reviews that evaluated the effectiveness of subglottic secretion aspiration in
reducing the occurrence of VAP. Study findings showed that the effectiveness of subglotti secretion aspiration in reducing VAP Rates was 52% across a
pooled total of 1701 cases (risk ratio, 0.52; 95% confidence interval, 0.43-0.64 in rates) .
13. Muscedere J, Rewa O, McKechnie K, Jiang X, Laporta D, Heyland DK. Subglottic secretion drainage for the prevention of
ventilator-associated pneumonia: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Crit Care Med. 2011;39(8):1985-1991.
Pro- Systematic Review – Study focused on 13 RCT‘s studies who reported a reduction in VAP rates in the subglottic secretion drainage arm. The overall risk ratio
for ventilator-associated pneumonia was 0.55 (95% confidence interval, 0.46-0.66; p < .00001) with no heterogeneity (I = 0%). The use of subglottic secretion
drainage was associated with reduced intensive care unit length of stay (-1.52 days; 95% confidence interval, -2.94 to -0.11; p = .03); decreased
duration of mechanically ventilated (-1.08 days; 95% confidence interval, -2.04 to -0.12; p = .03), and increased time to first episode of ventilatorassociated pneumonia (2.66 days; 95% confidence interval, 1.06-4.26; p = .001).
14. Juneja D, Javeri Y, Singh O, Nasa P, Pandey R, Uniyal B. Comparing influence of intermittent subglottic secretions drainage
with/without closed suction systems on the incidence of ventilator associated pneumonia.. Indian J Crit Care Med. 2011;15(3):168-72.
Pro- Intermittent vs. Continuous suctioning – Study focused on 311 patients requiring mechanical ventilation for more than 72 hours. Data was collected
retrospectively for following four groups: group A, no intervention; group B, only continues suctioning ; group C, only intermittent drainage; and group D,
intermittent drainage with continues suctioning . Incidence of VAP per 1000 ventilator days in groups A, B, C, and D were 25, 23.9, 15.7 and 14.3,
respectively (P=0.04). There was no significant difference in the duration of MV (P=0.33), length of ICU (P=0.55) and hospital stay (P=0.36) and ICU
mortality (P=0.9) among the four groups. Intermittent drainage of secretions reduces the incidence of VAP. Continuous suctioning alone or in
combination with intermittent has no significant effect on VAP incidence.
15. Hallais C, Merle V, Guitard PG, et al. Is continuous subglottic suctioning cost-effective for the prevention of ventilator-associated
pneumonia? Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2011;32(2):131-135.
Study analyzed the cost benefit of 416 surgica patients receiving mechanical ventilation for 3,487 ventilation days in the SICU. A total of 32 VAP episodes were
observed (7.9 episodes per 100 ventilated patients; incidence density, 9.2 episodes per 10,000 ventilation-days). Based on a hypothesized 29% reduction in the
risk of VAP with Continuous Subglottic Suctioning (CSS) Tubes than Conventioal Ventilation (CV) Tubes, 9 VAP episodes could have been averted. The additional
cost of CSS for 2006 was estimated to be €10,585.34. The cost per averted VAP episode was €1,176.15. Assuming a VAP cost of €4,387, a total of 3 averted
VAP episodes would neutralize the additional cost. For a low VAP incidence of 6.6%, the cost per averted VAP would be €1,323. The cost of a CV tube was €1.01.
The cost of a CSS tube (Hi-Lo Evac) was €5.50, and the cost of 1 secretion-receiving bottle was €2.50If each patient required 2 tubes during ventilation, the cost
would be €1,383.69 per averted VAP episode. Findings conclude that replacement of CV with CSS was a cost-effective method for treatment and for reducing
VAP rates.
16. Speroni KG, Lucas J, Dugan L, et al. Comparative effectiveness of standard endotracheal tubes vs. endotracheal tubes with
continuous subglottic suctioning on ventilator-associated pneumonia rates. Nurs Econ. 2011;29(1):15-20, 37.
Pro- Business Case – Study focused on 154 intubated adult patients (77 = S-ETT; 77 = CSS-ETT). The Standard -ETT group had one case of VAP; the
Continues -ETT group had none. The mean total hospital charges were higher for the S-ETT group ($103,600; CSS-ETT= $88,500) (p = 0.3). Although the
average number of intubation days and ICU days were greater for the CSS-ETT group, there were no cases of VAP compared to the Standard -ETT group.
Based upon the one Standard -ETT VAP case and the VAP attributable costs, it is cost effective to use the Continues-ETT.
17. Overend T, Anderson C, Brooks D, et al. Updating the evidence-base for suctioning adult patients: A systematic review.. Can
Respir J. 2009;16(3).
Pro- Systematic Review- Analyzed 15 RCT and 13 RCO of adult mechanically ventilated patients. Study findings showed that new evidence continues to be varied
in strength for suctioning practice, but the evidence has improved since 2001. Study recommends members of the health care team should incorporate this
evidence into their practice based on the growing body of evidence for the use of suctioning.
18. Depew C, McCarthy M. Subglottic secretion drainage: A literature review.. AACN Adv Crit Care. 2007;18(4):366-79.
Pro – Review of meta-analysis (Dezfulian, 2005)2 that looked at 5RCT that compared aspiration of subglottic secretion vs. standard ETT care. Findings
conclude that there insufficient outcome evidence to support the use of subglottic technology – aside from the VAP rate reduction.
CSTS –Appendix C: Literature Review Subglottic Suctioning
© Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality, Johns Hopkins Medicine
5