Airway Scope vs. Macintosh Laryngoscope for Patients Lying on the Ground

Intubation success rates did not differ significantly with the two devices, but the results are difficult to generalize.

Prehospital intubation of patients lying supine on the ground can be logistically challenging. In a randomized study, researchers compared the Airway Scope (a video laryngoscope with an attached liquid crystal display) and the Macintosh laryngoscope in 100 adult elective surgery patients without markers of difficult laryngoscopy (i.e., Mallampati grade IV or thyromental distance <6 cm) who were intubated in a simulated ground position. Instruments were supplied by the manufacturers.

After anesthesia was induced, a single experienced anesthesiologist (>150 intubations with the Airway Scope) performed intubation from a table placed at the same height as the operating table, either with the Airway Scope while kneeling or with a Macintosh laryng…

Reviewing Authors

Emily L. Brown, MD

Ron M. Walls, MD, FRCPC, FAAEM

Disclosures

Speaker's bureauAirway Management Education Center, LLC

EquityAirway Management Education Center, LLC

Grant / Research supportAgency for Health Care Research and Quality

Editorial boardsManual of Emergency Airway Management; Rosen's Emergency Medicine; UpToDate; Scientific American Medicine