Airtraq DL and AWS-200 for Double-lumen Endotracheal Tube Intubation: A Prospective Randomized Clinical Trial

This prospective randomized study aimed to assess the usefulness of two videolaryngoscopes with a side channel, the Airtraq DL^TM and the AWS-200^TM, for intubation with a double-lumen tube (DLT).

In 60 patients with an American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status of 1-3 who were not expected to have difficult airway, the Airtraq DL^TM and the AWS-200^TM were randomly used for DLT intubation. The primary outcome was intubation time. The secondary outcomes included exposure time, the glottis view with the Macintosh and study videolaryngoscopes, the number of attempts before successful intubation, the intubation difficulty scale (IDS) score, and the subjectively rated ease of blade insertion and DLT advancement.

No significant differences were observed in patient characteristics. In all patients, DLT intubation was successful at the first attempt. Intubation time was significantly shorter in the Airtraq DL^TM group (17.2±0.9 seconds, range = 9.6-29.4 seconds) than in the AWS-200^TM group (21.6±1.1 seconds, range = 13.1-33.9 seconds) (P = 0.005). No significant differences were observed in any other outcomes.

In patients who were not expected to have difficult airway, DLT intubation with the Airtraq DL^TM required significantly less time than with the AWS-200^TM.