• Thomas Godet, Audrey De Jong, Côme Garin, Renaud Guérin, Benjamin Rieu, Lucile Borao, Bruno Pereira, Nicolas Molinari, Jean-Etienne Bazin, Matthieu Jabaudon, Gérald Chanques, Emmanuel Futier, and Samir Jaber.
• Département Anesthésie Réanimation, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU) Clermont-Ferrand, 63000, Clermont-Ferrand, France. tgodet@chu-clermontferrand.fr.
• Intensive Care Med. 2022 Sep 1; 48 (9): 117611841176-1184.

PurposeTo investigate the impact of Macintosh blade size used during direct laryngoscopy (DL) on first-attempt intubation success of orotracheal intubation in French intensive care units (ICUs). We hypothesized that success rate would be higher with Macintosh blade size No3 than with No4.MethodsMulticenter retrospective observational study based on data from prospective trials conducted in 48 French ICUs of university, and general and private hospitals. After each intubation using Macintosh DL, patients' and operators' characteristics, Macintosh blade size, results of first DL and alternative techniques used, as well as the need of a second operator were collected. Complications rates associated with intubation were investigated. Primary outcome was success rate of first DL using Macintosh blade.ResultsA total of 2139 intubations were collected, 629 with a Macintosh blade No3 and 1510 with a No4. Incidence of first-pass intubation after first DL was significantly higher with Macintosh blade No3 (79.5 vs 73.3%, p = 0.0025), despite equivalent Cormack-Lehane scores (p = 0.48). Complications rates were equivalent between groups. Multivariate analysis concluded to a significant impact of Macintosh blade size on first DL success in favor of blade No3 (OR 1.44 [95% CI 1.14-1.84]; p = 0.0025) without any significant center effect on the primary outcome (p = 0.18). Propensity scores and adjustment analyses concluded to equivalent results.ConclusionIn the present study, Macintosh blade No3 was associated with improved first-passed DL in French ICUs. However, study design requires the conduct of a nationwide prospective multicenter randomized trial in different settings to confirm these results.© 2022. The Author(s).

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