The publication linked below provides an overview of published studies involving breath condensate collection from mechanically ventilated patients. It also discusses the use of several commercially-available collection devices including the RTube. Since this article was published before we introduced the RTubeVENT, it highlights the use of the standard RTube on the ventilator, which we do not support. The RTubeVENT is the proper choice for breath condensate collection from mechanically ventilated patients and has none of the complications of using the standard RTube on the ventilator. Notably, the RTubeVENT placed inline in the expiratory limb of the ventilator circuit provides a superior method of collecting cytokines. This is possibly due to the effect of a cuffed endotracheal tube as a means of isolating the lung environment from the throat and mouth coupled with the proximity of the RTubeVENT to the biomarker sources in the lung.
Collecting Breath Condensate from Mechanically Ventilated Patients
