Acoustical Effects of Endotracheal Intubation

¹ University of Washington, Seattle
² Department of Anesthesiology, University of Washington, Seattle

Certain acoustical consequences of endotracheal intubation were examined in 13 male cardiovascular-surgery patients. Each subject recorded three tokens of a sustained vowel 1 day before intubation, 1 day after, upon discharge, and during a follow-up visit. Eight acoustical measures were obtained from the audio-recorded vowels: (a) mean fundamental frequency (F_o), (b) F_o standard deviation, (c) F_o perturbation quotient, (d) mean sound pressure level (SPL), (e) SPL standard deviation, (f) SPL perturbation quotient, (g) spectral flatness of the residue signal, and (h) coefficient of excess. Mean F_o, F_o standard deviation, mean SPL, SPL standard deviation, and coefficient of excess did not differ significantly across recording sessions, although certain predictable trends were apparent. F_o perturbation quotient, SPL perturbation quotient, and spectral flatness of the residue signal varied significantly across sessions, implying that these acoustical measures may be useful in the identification and monitoring of even minor intubation-related laryngeal trauma.

Key Words: larynx • intubation trauma • vocal noise • acoustical measures

Submitted on May 11, 1989
Accepted on October 2, 1989