Comparison of video laryngoscopy to direct laryngoscopy for intubation of patients with difficult airway characteristics in the emergency department

Background Video laryngoscopy may be useful in the setting of the difficult airway, but it remains unclear if intubation success is improved in routine difficult airway management. This study compared success rates for tracheal intubation with the C-MAC® video laryngoscope (Karl Storz, Tuttlingen, Germany) with conventional direct laryngoscopy in patients with predicted difficult airway. Methods We conducted a two arm, single-blinded randomized controlled trial that involved 300 patients. Inclusion required at least one of four predictors of difficult intubation. The primary outcome was successful tracheal intubation on first attempt. Results The use of video laryngoscopy resulted in more successful intubations on first attempt (138/149; 93%) as compared with direct laryngoscopy (124/147; 84%), P = 0.026. Cormack-Lehane laryngeal view was graded I or II in 139/149 of C-MAC attempts versus 119/147 in direct laryngoscopy attempts (P < 0.01). Laryngoscopy time averaged 46 s (95% CI, 40-51) for the C-MAC group and was shorter in the direct laryngoscopy group, 33 s (95% CI, 29-36), P < 0.001. The use of a gum-elastic bougie and/or external laryngeal manipulation were required less often in the C-MAC intubations (24%, 33/138) compared with direct laryngoscopy (37%, 46/124, P = 0.020). The incidence of complications was not significantly different between the C-MAC (20%, 27/138) versus direct laryngoscopy (13%, 16/124, P = 0.146). Conclusion A diverse group of anesthesia providers achieved a higher intubation success rate on first attempt with the C-MAC in a broad range of patients with predictors of difficult intubation. C-MAC laryngoscopy seems to be a useful technique for the initial approach to a potentially difficult airway.

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Does Video Laryngoscopy or Direct Laryngoscopy affect first pass success rates for intubation among Attending and Non-Attending Emergency Physician in the Emergency Department?

10.21203/rs.2.13427/v1 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Paul Weng Wan ◽

Zakaria Nur Diana ◽

Seow Gek Ching ◽

Wong Evelyn

Keyword(s):

Emergency Department ◽

Success Rate ◽

Direct Laryngoscopy ◽

Video Laryngoscopy ◽

Secondary Outcome ◽

Emergency Physicians ◽

Success Rates ◽

Direct Laryngoscope ◽

First Pass ◽

Lemon Score

Abstract Background: To our knowledge, there has been no study comparing intubation characteristics between attending and non-attending Emergency Physicians in South-East Asia. We aim to identify whether the use of Direct Laryngoscopy (DL) compared to Video Laryngoscopy (VL) affects first pass success rates between Attending Emergency Physicians (AEP) and Non-Attending Emergency Physicians (NAEP). Materials and Methods: Retrospective analysis of data from 2009 to 2016 in an existing airway registry managed by and academic Emergency Department in Singapore. Primary outcome is first pass success intubation rate. The secondary outcome was first pass success rate for difficult intubations. Difficult intubations were defined as LEMON score of more than 1 or more than 1 attempt at intubation. Results: There were 2909 intubation carried out by emergency physicians in the Emergency Department from 2009 to 2016. AEP conducted 1748 intubations while NAEP conducted 1161 intubations. The first pass success rates for AEP was 84.2% while that for NAEP was 67.4%. 86.2% of intubations by AEP were done with a direct laryngoscope. 89.0% of the intubations by NAEP were done with a direct laryngoscope. 18.9% of intubations by the AEP were difficult compared to 35.2% by the NAEP (p<0.01 95% C.I 13.0%-19.6%). First pass success rate with VL was lower than DL for all intubations (OR 0.66, 95% C.I 0.51-0.84). In the subgroup of difficult intubations, VL did not improve first pass success rate among AEP (OR 0.77, 95% C.I 0.38-1.58) but it did for NAEP (OR 2.46, 95% C.I 0.94-6.45). Conclusion: Our study showed that VL has a poorer first pass success rate for all intubations in general. However, specifically for difficult intubations, VL is associated with improved first pass success rates among NAEP.

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