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Video laryngoscopy is rapidly becoming standard care in hospitals, but what about use in the prehospital arena? Investigators from an emergency medical services (EMS) system in Washington State compared intubation characteristics for 300 consecutive patients who were intubated by paramedics using traditional laryngoscopy and 315 consecutive patients who were intubated using the GlideScope Ranger video laryngoscope. Eligible patients were aged 6 years and older and weighed at least 20 kg. Paramedics were trained in use of the GlideScope on airway simulation manikins during an annual 6-hour airway course.
Mean age, number of paralytic-assisted intubations, and numbers of trauma and medical patients did not differ significantly between groups. …