Introduction

 

 

John A. Pacey (surgeon at the Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancover, British Columbia, Canada) developed the GlideScope Video Laryngoscope (GVL), the prototypical video laryngoscope, and sales of this device (manufactured by Saturns Biomedical Systems, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada) were commenced late in the year 2001. The GVL allows for the transmission of a video image, initially in black-and-white and now in color quality, to a monitor, enabling the operator to visualize anatomical structures of the laryngeal aperture not necessarily in the line-of-sight with conventional laryngoscopy (CL).

 

The introduction of a new device for airway management into routine clinical practice requires validation of performance in controlled studies. The GVL is recommended by the manufacturer for routine and difficult laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation, but there are only limited published data on its use  (2, 6, 7). We conducted this study exclusively on patients presenting for thyroid surgery to recruit a sufficient number of patients with variable degrees of airway difficulties and conventional laryngoscopic views.

 

The handling of the GVL is similar to CL with the Macintosh laryngoscope that we anticipated easy adoption by novice users. Because of expected problems with viewing the intubation process on a monitor and difficulties in manipulating the tracheal tube through the oropharynx and the laryngeal aperture into a midtracheal position, the operators first received formal hands-on training on an airway model and were then instructed during the early series of performance on patients by an experienced user of the GVL.

 

 

Materials and Methods