The Glidescope system: a clinical assessment of performance

The Glidescope is a new videolaryngoscope. It has a digital camera incorporated in the blade which displays a view of the vocal cords on a monitor. This allows the placement of a tracheal tube to be visualised. We describe its performance in 50 patients who required orotracheal intubation for elective surgery. Two investigators performed 25 intubations each. Intubation with the Glidescope was successful in 47 of the 50 cases. The three failures occurred early in the series and were attributed to the initial learning curve. The success rate after the first eight patients in each series was 100%. The median (IQR [range]) time to intubation was 40 (30-55 [15-105]) s. The Glidescope provided a grade I view of the glottis in 44 cases and a grade II view in six cases. The view of the larynx was improved in almost half (23) of the cases. The Glidescope improved the view by one grade in 22 and by two grades in one patient. We conclude that the Glidescope is an effective device for tracheal intubation and provides an improved view of the larynx. Further clinical studies are necessary to evaluate its role in airways that are difficult to manage.