Comparison of the Pentax AWS and the Glidescope with the Macintosh laryngoscope for tracheal intubation in patients with Mallampati classification I or II

Jeong, Ji Seon; Jeong, Mi Ae; Cho, Joo Won; Cho, Jae Hyun; Shim, Jae Hang; Suh, Jung Kook

Abstract

BACKGROUND
The Pentax AWS and the Glidescope are new intubating devices.They were designed to provide a view of the glottis without alignment of the oral, pharyngeal and tracheal axis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Pentax AWS and the Glidescope in comparison with the Macintosh laryngoscope, when performing tracheal intubation in patients with mallampati classification I or II.
METHODS
Ninety patients presenting for surgery requiring tracheal intubation, and who were deemed easy for tracheal intubation of mallampati classification I or II were randomly assigned to undergo intubation using a Macintosh (Group M, n = 30), Pentax AWS (Group P, n = 30) or Glidescope (Group G, n = 30). Time to complete tracheal intubation and number of attempts until successful intubation were recorded. Noninvasive blood pressure and heart rate recorded before induction (PI), just before intubation (PT), 1 min and 5 min after intubation. Patients were assessed for postoperative sore throat at 6-12 h after surgery.
RESULTS
Time to secure the airway with the Macintosh 13.0 (min 7, max 23.0) s was lesser than with the Pentax AWS 20.4 (8, 51.2) s and Glidescope 22.1 (10, 42.0) s. There were no significant differences in the rate of successful intubations and sore throat among the groups. There were significant increases in both mean arterial pressure and heart rate 1 min after intubation in all groups compare with PI.
CONCLUSIONS
The Pentax AWS and the Glidescope had no specific advantage over the Macintosh laryngoscope for the patients with normal airway.