improves with proper
training on any
device," points out Dr.
Cooper. "If you choose
a device that matches
your experience with
a direct laryngoscope,
you may end up with a
device that has
reduced versatility."
Manufacturers offer
various blade sizes
and designs, which are
essentially slight varia-
tions of the Macintosh blade, according to Ms. Wrobleski. She sug-
gests you invest in sizes that are appropriate for the patients you
host. For example, her facility needed a blade that could be used on
children as young as a year old because of the high volume of pedi-
atric cases they schedule.
If you can invest in only 1 blade, buy the largest one you might need,
because you can use it in most adult patients with only a slight adjust-
ment in intubation technique, says Ms. Wrobleski.
Dr. Cooper recommends devices with hyperangulated blades, a wide
range of blade sizes and the ability to record, capture and store video.
He believes recording laryngoscopies is useful from a quality assur-
ance standpoint and will eventually emerge as the standard in clinical
documentation that's sent to electronic records.
You'll have to decide between channeled devices — which contain
an integrated slot for guiding the placement of the endotracheal tube
— and non-channeled devices. Some providers find channeled scopes
F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 6 • O U T PA T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T • 1 1 5
• PRACTICE IMPROVEMENT The skill set needed for conventional laryngoscopy doesn't
translate directly to video laryngoscopy.
