Disposable Metal Laryngoscope Blades Match Reusable Metal Blades for Prehospital Intubation

Disposable plastic laryngoscope blades have been shown to be inferior to standard reusable metal blades in both prehospital (JW Emerg Med Oct 12 2007) and in-hospital (JW Emerg Med Feb 14 2006) studies. In a prospective, randomized prehospital study in France, researchers compared first-pass intubation success rates between disposable single-use metal blades and standard reusable metal blades in 817 adult patients. Anesthesiologists or nurse anesthetists performed standard rapid sequence intubation (RSI); patients with cardiac arrest or contraindications to RSI were excluded.

First-pass intubation success rates were similar with the disposable blade and the reusable blade (71.4% and 71.1%). Secondary outcomes — incidence of difficult intubat…