Acta anaesthesiologica Scandinavica
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Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Oct 2011
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyGlideScope videolaryngoscope vs. Macintosh direct laryngoscope for intubation of morbidly obese patients: a randomized trial.
Morbidly obese patients are at increased risk of hypoxemia during tracheal intubation because of increased frequency of difficult and impossible intubation and a decreased apnea tolerance. In this study, intubation with the GlideScope videolaryngoscope (GS) was compared with the Macintosh direct laryngoscope (DL) in a group of morbidly obese patients. ⋯ Intubation of morbidly obese patients with GS was slightly slower than with DL. The increased intubation time was of no clinical consequence as no patients became hypoxemic. Both devices generally performed well in the studied population, but the GS provided better laryngoscopic views and decreased IDS scores.