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An audit of laryngoscopes and application of a new ISO standard

Paul A Baker1, Shane McQuoid, John M D Thompson

  • 1Department of Anaesthesia, Starship Children's Health, Auckland, New Zealand. pbaker@adhb.govt.nz

Paediatric Anaesthesia
|February 9, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Many laryngoscopes fail to meet illumination standards. Regular audits are crucial to ensure adequate light quality for intubation, promoting patient safety and guiding equipment replacement.

Area of Science:

  • Medical Devices
  • Anesthesiology
  • Clinical Engineering

Background:

  • The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) established standards (ISO 7376:2009) for laryngoscope illumination.
  • A minimum acceptable luminance of 100 cd·m⁻² is recognized for effective laryngoscopy.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess the light quality of laryngoscopes used in an anesthetic department.
  • To compare measured illuminance and luminance against ISO standards and clinical requirements.

Main Methods:

  • A custom device was used to standardize measurements for 190 reusable laryngoscopes.
  • Illuminance was measured using a lux meter; luminance was also recorded.
  • Eighteen laryngoscopes underwent detailed testing according to ISO 7376:2009.

Main Results:

  • Only 2 of 18 laryngoscopes met the minimum 500 lux illuminance standard after 10 minutes.
  • Nine laryngoscopes delivered less than the minimum acceptable luminance of 100 cd·m⁻².
  • None of the tested laryngoscopes complied with the ISO standard for light distribution.

Conclusions:

  • Regular auditing of laryngoscope light output is essential.
  • Substandard equipment should be repaired or retired to ensure patient safety.
  • A need exists for a convenient and reliable device for measuring laryngoscope illumination.
Abstract

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