title: Endotracheal suction in intubated critically ill adult patients undergoing mechanical ventilation: a systematic review.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  identify and analyze in the literature the evidence of randomized controlled trials on care related to the suctioning of endotracheal secretions in intubated, critically ill adult patients undergoing mechanical ventilation.
  
  
  METHODS
  the search was conducted in the PubMed, EMBASE, CENTRAL, CINAHL and LILACS databases. From the 631 citations found, 17 studies were selected.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Evidence was identified for six categories of intervention related to endotracheal suctioning, which were analyzed according to outcomes related to hemodynamic and blood gas alterations, microbial colonization, nosocomial infection, and others.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  although the evidence obtained is relevant to the practice of endotracheal aspiration, the risks of bias found in the studies selected compromise the evidence's reliability.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Ciências Exatas e Naturais, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Campus Universitário de Rondonópolis, Brazil.
authors.forename: Débora Oliveira
authors.initials: DO
authors.lastname: Favretto
authors.forename: Renata Cristina de Campos Pereira
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Silveira
authors.forename: Silvia Rita Marin da Silva
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Canini
authors.forename: Livia Maria
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Garbin
authors.forename: Fernanda Titareli Merízio
authors.initials: FT
authors.lastname: Martins
authors.forename: Maria Célia Barcellos
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Dalri
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016638:Critical Illness / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012121:Respiration, Artificial; D013396:Suction / Q000379:methods; D014132:Trachea