• M Amor, S Nabil, M Bensghir, A Moussaoui, S Kabbaj, N Drissi Kamili, and W Maazouzi.
• Service d'anesthésie et de réanimation, université Mohammed V Souissi, hôpital des spécialités de Rabat, CHU Ibn Sina, Rabat, Morocco. mourad_amor_rea@yahoo.fr
• Ann Fr Anesth Reanim. 2013 May 1;32(5):296-301.

IntroductionAirtraq laryngoscope is a new and single use device for endotracheal intubation. Few studies showed the superiority of the Airtraq comparing to Macintosh laryngoscope in the setting of difficult intubation.Study DesignTo compare the performance of these two laryngoscopes by simulating a situation of reduced mobility of the cervical spine by applying the Manual in-line stablization (MILS) maneuver.Patients And MethodsAfter obtaining the approval of the ethic committee, we realized a prospective single blind randomized study. During a 6-month period, 120 consenting patients scheduled for ORL or ophthalmologic surgery were included. They all had general anesthesia and orotracheal intubation. These patients were randomly and equally divided in two groups (n=60), depending on the type of the laryngoscope used (Airtraq or Macintosh). Were excluded from the study the patients with history or criteria predicting difficult intubation. Each patient was intubated by one of the five experimented anesthetists selected for this work. The principle judgment criteria were: i) the time taken for the orotracheal intubation and ii) the intubation difficulty score (IDS). The secondary judgment criterion was the hemodynamic modifications after the endotracheal intubation.ResultsDemographic and upper airway track variables were comparable between the two groups. There was no case of failure of intubation in this serie. Nonetheless, all the patients of the Airtaq group were intubated from the first attempt, whereas half of the patients of the Macintosh group were intubated after the third attempt. Comparing to the Macintosh, the Airtraq reduces the time taken for the orotracheal intubation (14±1s vs 19±3s, P=0.01), the necessity of additional maneuver to facilitate the intubation, and the intubation difficulty score (0.7±0.3 vs 3.8±1, P<0.001). Orotracheal intubation using the Airtraq laryngoscope caused less hemodynamic stimulation than using the Macintosh.ConclusionOur study showed the usefulness of the Airtraq laryngoscope for endotracheal intubation for patients presenting conditions of difficult intubation such as reduced mobility of the cervical spine.Copyright © 2013 Société française d’anesthésie et de réanimation (Sfar). Published by Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.

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