CMAC® Versus Airtraq® and Macintosh Laryngoscope in Difficult Tracheal Intubation.

Airway, Airway Device, Difficult Intubation

It is essential that anaesthetists successfully perform orotracheal intubation in scenarios in which intubation is potentially more difficult, such as where anatomical characteristics predictive of difficult intubation are present. The CMAC® Laryngoscope is a new intubating device. It is designed to provide a view of the glottis without alignment of the oral, pharyngeal and tracheal axes. The CMAC may be especially effective in situations where intubation of the trachea is potentially difficult. The efficacy of this device in comparison to the traditional Macintosh laryngoscope and other novel laryngoscopes is not known. We aim to compare its performance to that of the Macintosh laryngoscope, the gold standard device, in patients with one or more anatomical characteristics predictive of difficult intubation. The investigators further aim to compare it to the Airtraq® device a device which has been shown to be superior to the Macintosh laryngoscope in previous trials. The investigators primary hypothesis is that, in the hands of experienced anaesthetists, time to intubation would be shorter using the CMAC than using the Macintosh laryngoscope in patients with two or more anatomical characteristics predictive of difficult intubation. The investigators further hypothesize that the Airtraq® will be superior the CMAC® with one or more anatomical characteristics predictive of difficult intubation.

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