Videolaryngoscopy in anesthesia and perioperative medicine: innovations, challenges, and best practices

Successful tracheal intubation during general anaesthesia traditionally requires a line of sight to the larynx attained by positioning the head and neck and using a laryngoscope to retract the tongue and soft tissues of the floor of the mouth. Difficulties with intubation commonly arise, and alternative laryngoscopes that use digital and/or fibreoptic technology have been designed to improve visibility when airway difficulty is predicted or encountered. Among these devices, a rigid videolaryngoscope (VLS) uses a blade to retract the soft tissues and transmits a lighted video image to a screen. Show more

To evaluate a new videolaryngoscope and assess its ability to provide laryngeal exposure and facilitate intubation. Five centres, involving 133 operators and a total of 728 consecutive patients, participated in the evaluation of a new video-laryngoscope [GlideScope (GS)]. Many operators had limited or no previous GS experience. We collected information about patient demographics and airway characteristics, Cormack-Lehane (C/L) views and the ease of intubation using the GS. Failure was defined as abandonment of the technique. Data from six patients were incomplete and were excluded. Excellent (C/L 1) or good (C/L 2) laryngeal exposure was obtained in 92% and 7% of patients respectively. In all 133 patients in whom both GS and direct laryngoscopy (DL) were performed, GS resulted in a comparable or superior view. Among the 35 patients with C/L grade 3 or 4 views by DL, the view improved to a C/L 1 view in 24 and a C/L 2 view in three patients. Intubation with the GS was successful in 96.3% of patients. The majority of the failures occurred despite a good or excellent glottic view. GS laryngoscopy consistently yielded a comparable or superior glottic view compared with DL despite the limited or lack of prior experience with the device. Successful intubation was generally achieved even when DL was predicted to be moderately or considerably difficult. GS was abandoned in 3.7% of patients. This may reflect the lack of a formal protocol defining failure, limited prior experience or difficulty manipulating the endotracheal tube while viewing a monitor. Show more

Introduction The Glidescope® video-laryngoscopy appears to provide better glottic visualization than direct laryngoscopy. However, it remains unclear if it translates into increased success with intubation. Methods We systematically searched electronic databases, conference abstracts, and article references. We included trials in humans comparing Glidescope® video-laryngoscopy to direct laryngoscopy regarding the glottic view, successful first-attempt intubation, and time to intubation. We generated pooled risk ratios or weighted mean differences across studies. Meta-regression was used to explore heterogeneity based on operator expertise and intubation difficulty. Results We included 17 trials with a total of 1,998 patients. The pooled relative risk (RR) of grade 1 laryngoscopy (vs ≥ grade 2) for the Glidescope® was 2.0 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.5 to 2.5]. Significant heterogeneity was partially explained by intubation difficulty using meta-regression analysis (P = 0.003). The pooled RR for nondifficult intubations of grade 1 laryngoscopy (vs ≥ grade 2) was 1.5 (95% CI 1.2 to 1.9), and for difficult intubations it was 3.5 (95% CI 2.3 to 5.5). There was no difference between the Glidescope® and the direct laryngoscope regarding successful first-attempt intubation or time to intubation, although there was significant heterogeneity in both of these outcomes. In the two studies examining nonexperts, successful first-attempt intubation (RR 1.8, 95% CI 1.4 to 2.4) and time to intubation (weighted mean difference −43 sec, 95% CI −72 to −14 sec) were improved using the Glidescope®. These benefits were not seen with experts. Conclusion Compared to direct laryngoscopy, Glidescope® video-laryngoscopy is associated with improved glottic visualization, particularly in patients with potential or simulated difficult airways. Show more