Abstract
Objective
In emergency medicine, endotracheal intubation is the gold standard for airway management.
First-pass intubation success is beneficial because it secures the patient airway
more quickly and avoids complications associated with repeated attempts, such as bleeding
and swelling of soft tissue. The key to first-pass success is the ability to visualize
the laryngeal inlet. Visualization can be accomplished using traditional direct laryngoscopy
or video laryngoscopy. The purpose of our study was to compare the rate of successful
first-pass endotracheal intubations using a video laryngoscope with that using a direct
visualization laryngoscope in a prehospital emergency setting.
Methods
We retrospectively reviewed data that had been prospectively collected in our emergency
department regarding patients who underwent endotracheal intubation performed by personnel
from a single local ambulance service from January 1, 2014, through December 31, 2015.
Results
One hundred eighty-one patients were intubated using video laryngoscopy and 115 using
direct visualization laryngoscopy. The first-pass endotracheal intubation success
rate using video laryngoscopy was 12.6% higher than with direct laryngoscopy.
Conclusion
This retrospective study shows that video laryngoscopy had a higher first-pass success
rate than direct laryngoscopy. This is promising because decreasing failure rates
provide better patient outcomes.
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: July 11, 2019
Identification
Copyright
© 2019 Air Medical Journal Associates. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
