CS#40 Airtraq Laryngoscope versus conventional Macintosh laryngoscope

British Journal of Anaesthesia 2011
Y.Lu H. Jiang & Y.S. Zhu
Shanghai Jiao Tong University China

Several randomised controlled trials have compared the Airtraq with the Macintosh laryngoscope, to provide greater clarity about outcomes, the authors carried out a systematic review andmeta-analysis.

The results were pooled of the intubation time, the first attempt success rate, the incidence of complications and the incidence of oesophageal intubation.

A total of 133 studies were received:

The authors main result is that the Airtraq significantly decreased intubation time both in novice and inexperienced anaesthetists compared with conventional Macintosh laryngoscopy. Only in novice anaesthetists did the Airtraq significantly increase the first attempt success rate. The Airtraq also reduced the chance of oesophageal intubation and haemodynamic findings in three studies showed that the Airtraq produces less haemodynamic stimulation.

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