Experience of an anesthesiologist as a predictor of difficulty during videolaryngoscopy

Tracheal intubation using a videolaryngoscope does not require the alignment of the Oro-pharyngeal-laryngeal axes as is the case with direct laryngoscopes. The predictors of difficult direct laryngoscopy may thus, not be applicable to predict a difficult videolaryngoscopy. This study aims to assess the effect of years of experience of an anesthesiologist on the difficulty encountered during KingVision videolaryngoscope guided tracheal intubation.

This prospective randomized study was conducted in a tertiary care teaching institute on 88 consenting adult patients of either sex and ASA physical status I-III and Mallampatti score I-IV scheduled for elective surgical procedures requiring G A with tracheal intubation (TI). Patients were randomized to one of the two groups, group C (intubation by a consultant) or group R (intubation by resident). Standard anesthesia technique was followed and KingVision videolaryngoscope was used to perform all intubations. Proportion of difficult intubations in each group was compared using Chi square/Fisher's exact test. Quantitative parameters were analyzed using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey's test and Mann Whitney's U-test. A P value < 0.05 was considered significant.

The proportion of difficult intubations (P = 0.668), first attempt success rate (P = 0.799) and intubation difficulty score (P = 0.990) were comparable between the two groups. Laryngoscopy time, tube insertion time and intubation time was also comparable.

The years of experience of an anesthesiologist was found to have no effect on the difficulty encountered during KingVision videolaryngoscope guided tracheal intubation.