Warming Endotracheal Tube in Blind Nasotracheal Intubation throughout Maxillofacial Surgeries

Blind nasotracheal intubation is an intubation method without observation of glottis that is used when the orotracheal intubation is difficult or impossible. One of the methods to minimize trauma to the nasal cavity is to soften the endotracheal tube through warming. Our aim in this study was to evaluate endotracheal intubation using endotracheal tubes softened by hot water at 50 °C and to compare the patients in terms of success rate and complications.

60 patients with ASA Class I and II scheduled to undergo elective jaw and mouth surgeries under general anesthesia were recruited.

success rate for Blind nasotracheal intubation in the control group was 70% vs. 83.3% in the study group. Although the success rate in the study group was higher than the control group, this difference was not statistically significant. The most frequent position of nasotracheal intubation tube was tracheal followed by esophageal and anterior positions, respectively.

In conclusion, our study showed that using an endotracheal tube softened by warm water could reduce the incidence and severity of epistaxis during blind nasotracheal intubation; however it could not facilitate blind nasotracheal intubation.