In ADC Education & Practice Edition, Wylie’s excellent review of neonatal intubation1 deals with many of the practical and physiological issues which continue to challenge staff caring for sick neonates. On the issue of endotracheal tube (ETT) length, I would draw attention to our recently published work which questions the use of the “7-8-9 rule”.

This rule suggests that orotracheal tubes should be inserted to …