• Lee C Chang, Susan C Lee, Andrew L Ding, and Suman Rajagopalan.
• Department of Anaesthesiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA.
• Turk J Anaesthesiol Reanim. 2019 Oct 1; 47 (5): 387-391.

ObjectiveAdvancement of the endotracheal tube through a fibreoptic scope can sometimes prove to be challenging in obese patients. The Parker Flex-Tip endotracheal tube was developed with a curved and tapered distal tip to facilitate easier placement in the trachea. This study examined the use of the Parker Flex-Tip tube as compared to standard endotracheal tubes in patients with a body mass index of 30 or greater.MethodsSixty patients undergoing surgery requiring general anaesthesia were randomised into two groups. Using the fibreoptic scope, one group was intubated with the Parker Flex-Tip tube and the other group with a standard polyvinyl Portex tube. The time for intubation and the number of attempts required to place the endotracheal tube were measured and recorded.ResultsUsing the Mann-Whitney U rank sum test, the median time needed for intubation with the two types of endotracheal tubes did not show a significant difference. The chi-square analyses were conducted for the number of attempts needed to place the endotracheal tubes, which also did not demonstrate any significant difference.ConclusionsParker Flex-Tip endotracheal tube was not superior to the standard endotracheal tubes for fibreoptic intubation in obese patients.© Copyright 2019 by Turkish Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Society.

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