Intubation Performance After Training with Macintosh Laryngoscope vs. GlideScope

Medical students who trained with the GlideScope video laryngoscope performed better on direct laryngoscopy than those trained with the Macintosh blade.

Novice intubators perform poorly on direct laryngoscopy (JW Emerg Med Jan 23 2009). Researchers evaluated performance of direct laryngoscopy and intubation by 42 inexperienced medical students in Beirut, Lebanon, who attended lectures on airway management and were then randomized to manikin-based training and live intubation demonstrations with either a Macintosh 3 laryngoscope blade or a GlideScope video laryngoscope. After training, all students performed intubation with a Macintosh 3 blade on three patients without predicted difficult airways who were undergoing elective surgery.

Intubation success rates for the first, second, and third patients were significantly higher in the GlideScope-trained group (48%, 70%, and 81%, respectively) th…

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