Summary: Aspiration of gastric contents is a recognised complication during all phases of anaesthesia. The risk of this event becomes more likely with repeated attempts at tracheal intubation. There is a lack of clinical data on the effectiveness of videolaryngoscopy relative to direct laryngoscopy rapid sequence intubation in the operating theatre. We hypothesised that the use of a videolaryngoscope during rapid sequence intubation would be associated with a higher first pass tracheal intubation success rate than conventional direct laryngoscopy. In this multicentre randomised controlled trial, 1000 adult patients requiring tracheal intubation for elective, urgent or emergency surgery were allocated randomly to airway management using a McGrath™ MAC videolaryngoscope (Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN, USA) or direct laryngoscopy. Both techniques used a Macintosh blade. First‐pass tracheal intubation success was higher in patients allocated to the McGrath group (470/500, 94%) compared with those allocated to the direct laryngoscopy group (358/500, 71.6%), odds ratio (95%CI) 1.31 (1.23–1.39); p < 0.001. This advantage was observed in both trainees and consultants. Cormack and Lehane grade ≥ 3 view occurred less frequently in patients allocated to the McGrath group compared with those allocated to the direct laryngoscopy group (5/500, 1% vs. 94/500, 19%, respectively; p < 0.001). Tracheal intubation with a McGrath videolaryngoscope was associated with a lower rate of adverse events compared with direct laryngoscopy (13/500, 2.6% vs. 61/500, 12.2%, respectively; p < 0.001). These findings suggest that the McGrath videolaryngoscope is superior to a conventional direct laryngoscope for rapid sequence intubation in the operating theatre.

Background: Tracheal intubation in critical care is a high-risk procedure requiring significant expertise and airway strategy modification. We hypothesise that awake tracheal intubation is associated with a lower incidence of severe adverse events compared to standard tracheal intubation in critical care patients. Methods: Records were acquired for all tracheal intubations performed from 2020 to 2022 for critical care patients at a tertiary hospital. Each awake tracheal intubation case, using a videolaryngoscope with a hyperangulated blade (McGrath^® MAC X-Blade), was propensity matched with two controls (1:2 ratio; standard intubation videolaryngoscopy (VL) and direct laryngoscopy (DL) undergoing general anaesthesia). The primary endpoint was the incidence of adverse events, defined as a mean arterial pressure of <55 mmHg (hypotension), SpO₂ < 80% (desaturation) after sufficient preoxygenation, or peri-interventional cardiac arrest. Results: Of the 135 tracheal intubations included for analysis, 45 involved the use of an awake tracheal intubation. At least one adverse event occurred after tracheal intubation in 36/135 (27%) of patients, including awake 1/45 (2.2%; 1/1 hypotension), VL 10/45 (22%; 6/10 hypotension and 4/10 desaturation), and DL 25/45 (47%; 10/25 hypotension, 12/25 desaturation, and 3/25 cardiac arrest; p < 0.0001). Conclusions: In this retrospective observational study of intubation practices in critical care patients, awake tracheal intubation was associated with a lower incidence of severe adverse events than anaesthetised tracheal intubation.

Summary: In thyroid surgery, intra‐operative neuromonitoring signals of the recurrent laryngeal nerve can be detected by surface electrodes on a tracheal tube positioned at the vocal fold level. The incidence of difficult tracheal intubation in patients undergoing thyroidectomy for nodular goitre ranges from 5.3% to 20.5%. The aim of this study was to compare videolaryngoscopy with conventional direct laryngoscopy as methods for proper placement of the surface electrode to prevent insufficient intra‐operative nerve signal quality. In this prospective randomised trial, adult patients requiring tracheal intubation during thyroid surgery were randomly allocated to two groups of C‐MAC ^® (Macintosh style blade) videolaryngoscope or direct laryngoscopy using the Macintosh laryngoscope. Primary outcome was the incidence of insufficient signal electromyogram amplitude level (< 500 μV) after successful tracheal intubation. A total of 260 (130 per group) participants were analysed. An insufficient signal was more frequent with direct laryngoscopy (35/130, 27%), compared with C‐MAC (12/130, 9%, p < 0.001). First‐pass tracheal intubation success rate was lower with direct laryngoscopy (86/130 (66%)) compared with the C‐MAC (125/130 (96%)) (p < 0.0001). Cormack and Lehane grade ≥ 3 was observed more frequently with direct laryngoscopy (16/130 (12%)), compared with the C‐MAC (0/130, (0%)) (p < 0.0001). The results suggest that videolaryngoscopy has an impact on the quality of the initial intra‐operative neuromonitoring signal in patients undergoing thyroid surgery, and this technique can provide optimised surface electrode positioning.

In infants, securing the airway is time-critical because of anatomical and physiological differences related to airway management in children less than 1 year old. The aim of this study was to compare the time to ventilation using two different hyperangulated video laryngoscope blades with the time to ventilation via conventional direct laryngoscopy in a normal airway [NA] and in a simulated difficult airway [DA]. This study was a comparative, bicentric, open-label, randomized controlled evaluation. An infant high-fidelity simulator (SimBaby™; Laerdal® Medical, Stavanger, Norway) was used, and two scenarios were proposed, as follows: NA and DA evoked with tongue edema and cervical collar. After theoretical and practical briefing, each participant compared in the two airway scenarios the novel King Vision™ Pediatric aBlade (KV) (Ambu® A/S, Bad Nauheim, Germany) video laryngoscope and the C-MAC™ D-blade Ped (DB) (Karl Storz® SE & Co. KG, Tuttlingen, Germany) video laryngoscope to conventional laryngoscopy using the Miller Blade (MiB) and the Macintosh Blade (MaB) in a random sequence. Eighty physicians (65 AN and 15 PCCM staff) were included. In the NA scenario, the median [IQR] time to successful time to ventilation (TTV) was significantly shorter for the KV at 13 s [12–15 s] than for the MaB at 14.5 s [13–16 s], DB at 14.5 s [13–16] and MiB at 16 s [14–19] (p < 0.001). In DA, the KV also shortened TTV to 14 s [13–16], whereas TTV was 23 s with the MaB [20–26], 19 s with the DB [16–21], and 27 s with the MiB [22–31] (p < 0.001). There were no differences in first-pass intubation success rates (FPAs) between hyperangulated blades and direct laryngoscopes in NA. In DA, the hyperangulated blades enabled 92 (DB) to 100% (KV) FPAs compared with 65 (MiB) to 76% (MaB) for conventional laryngoscopy (p < 0.001). Video laryngoscopes with hyperangulated blades were associated with shorter TTV in normal and difficult infant airway situations. The higher FPAs of hyperangulated blades in DA may avoid desaturations and decrease adverse events in pediatric airway management.

While awake tracheal intubation (ATI) is regarded as the gold standard for difficult airway management according to current guidelines, there seems to be a reluctance in its application. This retrospective cohort study, conducted at a German tertiary hospital over a 2-year period, aimed to demonstrate that integrating awake tracheal intubation using flexible bronchoscopy (ATI:FB) into routine airway management makes it a successful and safe approach. In 2019 and 2020, records from the data acquisition system (DAQ) and archived anesthesia records were screened to evaluate the specifics of ATI:FB procedures, focusing on overall success and safety. Analysis included complications, time required for ATI:FB, and potential influencing factors such as patient characteristics, indication, medical/operative specialty, sedation technique, route and experience of anesthesiologist. Logistic regression assessed the impact of various variables on occurrence of complications and linear regression, with log(time) as the dependent variable, evaluated median time required to perform ATI:FB. ATI:FB constituted 4.3 % (n = 1,911) of all airway management procedures, predominantly observed in dental, oral, and maxillofacial surgery (46.5 %) and otorhinolaryngology (38.4 %). The success rate for ATI:FB was notably high at 99.6 %, with only 5.4 % of cases experiencing complications, including technical issues, agitation, and visibility obstruction due to mucous secretion. Complication risk was influenced by the medical specialty and the experience of the anesthesiologist. A strong effect was observed in otorhinolaryngology (OR = 4.54, 95 % CI [1.64; 14.06]). The median time required for ATI:FB was 16 minutes (IQR: 11 to 23), with factors such as indication (p < 0.0001), experience of anesthesiologist (p < 0.0001), sedation technique (p = 0.0408), priority of the procedure (p = 0.0134), and medical/operative specialty (p < 0.0001) affecting the duration. The median time required for ATI:FB differed significantly based on the experience of the anesthesiologist (p < 0.0001). ATI:FB proves successful and safe, with low complications and manageable procedural time. Experience of the anesthesiologist is a modifiable factor enhancing safety, emphasizing the need for ATI:FB integration into routine airway management.

The use of extracorporeal life support (ECLS) as part of cardio-circulatory support has increased rapidly in recent years. Severe hyperlactatemia is not uncommon in this group of patients. Lactate peak concentrations and lactate clearance have already been identified as independent marker for mortality in critical ill patients without mechanical device support. The aim of this study was to determine a supposed correlation between the variables lactate peak concentration and clearance in the blood and mortality in the ECLS context. Therefore, a total of 51 cardiac surgery ICU patients with ECLS therapy were included in this retrospective, clinical observational study (survivors n = 23; non-survivors n = 28). Lactate measurement was performed before, during and after ECLS therapy. Further, common ICU scores (SAPSII, SOFA, TISS28), the rates of transfusion and the different vasopressor therapies will be compared. Significant elevated peak lactate levels and poor lactate clearance were associated with higher mortality during ECLS therapy (p < 0.001). Deceased patients had higher SAPSII scores (p < 0.001), received more transfusions (p < 0.001) and presented with higher rates of epinephrine (p < 0.001). In conclusion, hyperlactatemia during ECLS therapy is a time sensitive emergency. Lactate cannot be cleared in all patients. Reversible causes should be explored and treated. In cases where the cause is irreversible, the prognosis of elevated lactate concentrations and reduced clearance is very poor.