Comparison of Parker-tipped and Murphy-tipped tracheal tubes in Airway Scope-assisted intubation in a manikin.
OBJECTIVE
We tested our hypothesis that a Parker-tipped tracheal tube could improve the reliability of tracheal tube passage as compared to a Murphy-tipped tracheal tube during Airway Scope-assisted intubation in a manikin.


METHODS
Twenty-seven resident doctors performed Airway Scope-assisted intubations using both tracheal tubes, and the number of times the tracheal tube tip touched the glottis or other laryngeal structures was counted on the Airway Scope monitor.


RESULTS
The incidence of the tracheal tube tip touching the glottis during Airway Scope-assisted intubation using the Parker-tipped tracheal tube (7.4%; 2 of 27 attempts) was significantly less than that obtained using the Murphy-tipped tracheal tube (33.3%; 9 of 27 attempts; P = 0.039).


CONCLUSIONS
When the advancement of a conventional tracheal tube during Airway Scope-assisted intubation is likely to result in collision with the glottis or other laryngeal structures, the selection of a Parker-tipped tracheal tube is a better option.
Sanuki
Takuro
T
Department of Anesthesiology, Osaka Dental University, Chuo-ku, Osaka, Japan.
Sugioka
Shingo
S
Hirokane
Motoko
M
Kishimoto
Naotaka
N
Matsuda
Yoshiko
Y
Kotani
Junichiro
J
D005931:Glottis / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D020704:Laryngoscopes; D007830:Larynx / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D008348:Manikins; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015203:Reproducibility of Results