Airway Management Via the Retromolar Route Access

Medical University of Vienna

Status: Completed

Conditions: Airway Management; Intubation

Treatments: Other: Conventional Vocal Cord Visualisation; Other: Retromolar Vocal Cord Visualisation

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT01961817

1386/2013

Details and patient eligibility

About

Is there a difference in vocal cord visualization between the retromolar and conventional access?

Full description

Management of the difficult airway is still an essential part of modern anaesthesia. Up to now, there have bee no clinical investigations comparing the intubation method via the retromolar route (RM), with the conventional intubation route (CM).

For the present clinical investigation, 100 patients undergoing elective surgery will be investigated in the General Hospital of Vienna when for the anaesthesia intubation is required. In both intubation methods (RM and CM) the anaesthesiologist will visually determine the Cormack & Lehane score in a randomly assigned sequence with and without a BURP-manoeuvre (= backwards, upwards and rightwards pressure). Thereafter intubation is performed in all patients by the CM method and if intubation fails the RM technique will be used. Of course, as per usual, every intubation trial is interrupted by a 20 second 100%-oxygen-ventilation period to reach a pulse oximetry oxygen saturation of at least 97% SpO2. Thereafter, if intubation fails again every other intubation technique will be applied, as necessary and called for.

Enrollment: 100 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Age > 18yr
• BMI < 30kg/m2
• Elective surgery
• Absence of at least one molar of the right mandible

Exclusion criteria

• Emergency patients
• Prevalence of reflux disease
• Toothless patients
• Diaphragmatic hernia
• Patient is not sober
• Ventilation problems during induction of anaesthesia
• Gastric regurgitation during induction of anaesthesia
• Patient with a tracheostomy

Trial design

100 participants in 2 patient groups

Retromolar

Other group

Description:

Patients in whom the vocal cord visualisation starts with the retromolar method, which has been randomized determined preoperatively. The second visualization then will be performed with the conventional method.

Treatment:

Other: Retromolar Vocal Cord Visualisation

Other: Conventional Vocal Cord Visualisation

Convenvtional

Other group

Description:

Patients in whom the vocal cord visualisation starts with the conventional method, which has been randomized determined preoperatively. The second visualization then will be performed with the retromolar method.

Treatment:

Other: Retromolar Vocal Cord Visualisation

Other: Conventional Vocal Cord Visualisation