Introduction

 

 

The battery-powered McGrath Portable Video Laryngoscope (MVL; manufactured by Aircraft Medical, Edinburgh, United Kingdom) is a newly designed device with an anatomically shaped disposable laryngoscope blade entirely covering the camera stick, developed to facilitate tracheal intubation in patients with normal and difficult airways, and became commercially available in January 2006. The MVL allows for the transmission of a color image to a miniaturized video screen mounted on the proximal end of the laryngoscope handle, usually providing the operator a panoramic view of the laryngeal structures when properly inserted.

 

In April 2007, Shippey and co-workers (6) published their experiences with the MVL in patients mainly with normal preoperative airway examinations requiring orotracheal intubation. MVL-assisted laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation was successful in 98 percent (147/150 patients) after a maximum of two attempts and completed within a reasonable time. They concluded, that the potential advantages of the MVL regarding convenience using the Macintosh-laryngoscopy technique and portability warrant further evaluations, particularly in patients with difficult airways.

 

The introduction of a new device for airway management into routine clinical practice requires validation of performance in controlled studies, but there is still only one clinical study on the use of the MVL. We therefore conducted this study on patients with variable degrees of airway difficulties and conventional laryngoscopic views.

 

Shippey and co-workers (6) stressed the use of conventional malleable tracheal tube stylets and adequate shaping of the tracheal tube (TT) for succcessful MVL-assisted tracheal intubation. We had prior experiences with other video laryngoscopes and intended again to use the Schroeder directional tracheal tube stylet (Parker Flex-It Stylet, Parker Medical, Englewood, Colorado, United States) for articulating and passage of the TT through the laryngeal aperture.

 

 

Materials and Methods