Macintosh Laryngoscope and Airway Scope Perform Similarly in Obese Patients

The two laryngoscopes had comparable intubation success rates and glottic views.

The Pentax Airway Scope (AWS), a self-contained video laryngoscope (JW Emerg Med Sep 28 2007) has been widely studied in patients with cervical spine immobilization but has not been evaluated in obese patients. Researchers compared time to intubation in 99 obese patients (body-mass index, 30–50 kg/m²) who were randomized to intubation with a conventional Macintosh laryngoscope or the AWS by one of two attending anesthesiologists (each had used the AWS 5 to 10 times before the study).

Median time to intubation was significantly faster with the Macintosh laryngoscope than the AWS (26 vs. 38 seconds). Interestingly, this performance gap did not narrow during the course of the study. Achievement of Cormack-Lehane grade I or II views was similar …

Reviewing Authors

Cheryl Lynn Horton, MD

Disclosures

Speaker’s bureauAirway Management Education Center

Cheryl Lynn Horton, MD

Disclosures

Speaker’s bureauAirway Management Education Center

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

Leadership positions in professional societiesAssociation of Academic Chairs in Emergency Medicine (President)

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

Leadership positions in professional societiesAssociation of Academic Chairs in Emergency Medicine (President)