• Jongbong Choi, Yeongtak Song, Heekyung Lee, Yongil Cho, Tae Hee Han, and Tae Ho Lim.
• Department of Biomedical Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
• Can J Anaesth. 2021 Nov 1; 68 (11): 1651-1658.

PurposeBreaking of disposable blades during emergency endotracheal intubation has been reported. Breakage can cause serious injury and foreign body ingestion. We aimed to measure and analyze the strength characteristics of different disposable videolaryngoscope blades with the application of an upward-lifting force.MethodsWe measured the strength of four disposable videolaryngoscope blades (C-Mac® S Video laryngoscope MAC #3, Glidescope GVL® 3 stat, Pentax AWS® PBlade TL type, and King Vision® aBlade #3) using the fracture test. The strength of 12 samples of each type of disposable videolaryngoscope blade was measured using an Instron 5,966 tensile tester by applying an upward-lifting force.ResultsAfter the fracture test using C-Mac, Glidescope GVL, Pentax AWS, and King Vision, the number of deformed blades were 0, 12, 3, and 7, respectively, and the number of broken blades were 12, 0, 9, and 5, respectively. The mean (standard deviation) maximum force strengths of Pentax AWS, C-Mac, King Vision, and Glidescope GVL blades were 408.4 (27.4) N, 325.8 (26.5) N, 291.8 (39.3) N, and 262.7 (3.8) N, respectively (P < 0.001).ConclusionClinicians should be aware of the varied strength characteristics of the four types of disposable videolaryngoscope blades when they are used in endotracheal intubation.© 2021. Canadian Anesthesiologists' Society.

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