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Published on: February 21, 2014
Tracheal intubation with channeled vs. non-channeled videolaryngoscope blades
Peter Biro1, Martin Schlaepfer2
1Institute of Anaesthesiology, University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland.
Study Objective:
Videolaryngoscopes can be fitted either with channeled or non-channeled blades, which may result in a different performance and success of tracheal intubation. We investigated the characteristics of the two different blade types of the commercially available KingVision™ videolaryngoscope.
Design:
A prospective, randomized, single center investigation study in a urological operation unit of a tertiary hospital.
Subjects And Methods:
Forty adult patients undergoing elective urological surgery in general anaesthesia with tracheal intubation were randomly allocated into group 1 (channeled videolaryngoscopy, n = 20) and group 2 (non-channeled videolaryngoscopy, n = 20). We measured the times from laryngoscope insertion to recognize the glottis and to conclude tracheal intubation. The number of laryngoscopy/intubation attempts and the degree of visual glottis exposure on a visual analog scale from 0 (glottis not visible) to 10 (glottis fully visible) was assessed. The lowest SpO2 value during airway management was recorded.
Results:
There was no statistically significant difference in biometric data between the 2 groups. The time from the laryngoscope insertion to glottis recognition with the non-channeled blades was 5 (4-8) s as compared to the channeled ones with 11 (7-14) s (median and range; p = 0.01). Intubation duration was shorter with the channeled blades 17 (12-27) s vs. 29 (25-51) s (median and range; p < 0.001). Number of laryngoscopy/intubation attempts, grades for glottis visibility, intubation difficulty were not different. The lowest SpO2 was 98% in both groups.
Conclusions:
Videolaryngoscopic glottis recognition time was longer and the total time to secure the airway was shorter with the channeled blades.
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