| All intubated adults and children managed in an intensive care unit require endotracheal suctioning in order to maintain a patent airway. |
| The surgeon deflates the abdomen by turning off the insufflator, opening the trocar ports, and suctioning the abdominal cavity. |
| Normal saline instillation prior to endotracheal suctioning has been practised widely for over two decades in intensive care units. |
| It is not clear whether the deoxygenations that have been reported to occur during suctioning with normal saline instillation were clinically significant. |
| A recent survey of nurses and respiratory therapists indicated that just over half of respondents suctioned patients' mouths after each episode of endotracheal suctioning. |
| Overall colon cleansing was evaluated in terms of colonic content and need for suctioning. |
