Frequent use of alternative airway techniques makes difficult intubations less and easier.
BACKGROUND
This study is to evaluate how alternative airway techniques work at different scenarios of difficult airways in our department where those techniques are popularized in daily practice.


METHODS
This is an open and observational study. Ten thousand two hundred and twenty nine adult patients were included in the 7-month period of investigation. When a difficult intubation was recognized, the responsible anesthesiologist would complete a questionnaire that was designed to explore the possible causes relative to the difficulty, i.e. the laryngoscopic view grade, the muscle relaxant administered during induction, any difficulty of mask ventilation, the eventually successful intubation technique, and the recommendation on the next intubation to the same patient.


RESULTS
About 22% of the patients received various airway techniques for intubation other than laryngoscopic technique in general anesthesia. Laryngoscopic intubation was planned firstly on 8,058 cases; the incidence of difficult intubation was 0.44% (36/8058). Laryngoscopic view was found to be grade 2 in 10 patients, grade 3 in 24, and grade 4 in 2 patients, respectively. In these difficult airway intubations were accomplished ultimately with a conventional laryngoscope in 13 patients, a lighting stylet in 20 patients, a laryngeal mask airway (LMA) in 2 patients, and surface tactile oral intubation (STOI) in 1 patient. As to these patients with difficult airways who would undergo general anesthesia with endotracheal intubation next time awake intubation was suggested only to 4 patients.


CONCLUSIONS
In elective general anesthesia, frequent use of the alternative airway techniques, such as LMA for a surgical procedure of short duration and lighting stylet for a possibly difficult airway, will decrease the events of difficult intubations. Lighting stylet seems more advantageous than laryngoscope in management of difficult intubation caused by poor laryngoscopic view.
Chung
Yung-Tai
YT
Department ofAnesthesiology, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua, Taiwan, ROC. 73260@cch.org.tw
Wu
Hung-Shan
HS
Lin
Yi-Hsi
YH
Hsieh
Allen Yi-jer
AY
Chen
Chao-Liang
CL
D000328:Adult; D006801:Humans; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal / Q000379:methods*; D017214:Laryngeal Masks; D007828:Laryngoscopy