The role of the video laryngoscope in critically ill patient intubation was highlighted through an analysis of nearly 3,000 patients included in the Intube study, which evaluated airway management practice around the world. The study, published in the most important journal in the sector, the British Journal of Anesthesia, was carried out by a group of researchers coordinated by Dr. Vincenzo Russotto, from the Oncology Department of the University of Turin and resuscitator at the San Luigi Gonzaga university hospital, and by Professor Pietro Caironi, director of the complex operating unit of anesthesia and resuscitation of San Luigi and professor at the same university.
The video laryngoscope, which has already been used for several years in anesthesia, unlike the traditional laryngoscope, allows you to view the airways with indirect vision from a camera. The easier vision thus allows intubation to be completed safely even in situations of greater anatomical difficulty or when vision by the traditional route is extremely difficult (oedema, bleeding, presence of neoformations).
In anesthesia, several studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of this new method. In the critically ill patient (intensive care or emergency room) the scientific evidence has so far been conflicting, originally highlighting a greater probability of complications such as hypotension and desaturation, probably associated with the involvement of non-expert operators. The study has now verified its effectiveness, demonstrating that, in the face of patients with clinical conditions predictive of greater intubation difficulty, patients undergoing video-assisted technique were more frequently intubated successfully on the first attempt. Although these were critically ill patients, a higher incidence of adverse events was not observed.
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