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The disposable A mbu aScope vs. a conventional flexible videoscope for awake intubation – a randomised study
Author(s) -
KRISTENSEN M. S.,
FREDENSBORG B. B.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
acta anaesthesiologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.738
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1399-6576
pISSN - 0001-5172
DOI - 10.1111/aas.12094
Subject(s) - medicine , intubation , anesthesia , lidocaine , airway , tracheal intubation , fentanyl , airway management , surgery
Background A new disposable flexible videoscope, the A mbu® aScope , has several potential advantages compared with reusable devices, but it is a prerequisite for its widespread use that it functions sufficiently well in the management of patients in whom difficulty with airway management is anticipated and awake intubation is indicated. Methods In a pilot study, 20 patients with normal airways were intubated with the a S cope. Subsequently, 40 patients with predicted difficult tracheal intubation were randomly assigned to be intubated awake with either the a S cope or the reusable O lympus BF videobronchoscope. Results All patients were successfully intubated awake. The median total intubation time, including the administration of local anaesthesia, was 278 vs. 234 s in the a S cope and O lympus groups, respectively ( P = 0.03). In two cases in the a S cope group, the image became blurred immediately after the first injection of lidocaine via the injection channel, and the time that it took to replace the scopes was included in the intubation times. Conclusion Both the disposable a S cope and the reusable O lympus videoscope allowed safe awake intubation in our elective patients with severely difficult, but uncompromised, airways. The occasional need to employ a spare scope because of malfunctioning would make the disposable a S cope less suitable in patients with acutely compromised airways.