CLINICAL EVALUATION OF OESOPHAGUS-LIGHT-GUIDED TRACHEAL INTUBATION USING BLIND TRACHEAL INTUBATION INSTRUMENT FOR PATIENTS WITH DIFFICULT INTUBATION

Objective To study clinical evaluation of oesophagus-light-guided tracheal intubation using blind tracheal intubation instrument(BTII) for patients with difficult intubation. Methods 136 cases with difficult tracheal intubation were devided into three groups: group A with 90 expected cases and group B with 16 unexpected cases were intubated by a skilled anesthesiologist(the training times of BTII intubation=20), group C with 30 expected cases were operated by unskilled anesthesiologists(the training times of BTII intubation=5). The scales of predication of expected difficult intubation werre distance of opening mouth less than 3cm, degree of cervical tilting back less than 30°, Mallampati III~IV degree, and distance between protuberances of thyroid cartilage and chin less than 6.5cm. The unexpected difficult intubations were those occurred after anesthetic induction with time of intubation by laryngoscope more than 10 minutes or attempts of intubation by laryngoscope more than 3. Group A and group C were done awake intubation. Group B were intubated under general anesthesia. All patients were done oesophagus-light-guided tracheal intubation by BTII. The results of clinical application were observed. Results The successful rates of group A and group B were 98.9% and 93.8%, respectively time of intubation was 8.1 minutes and 3.2 minutes. THe rate of two attempts to success and time of intubation in group C were more than that in group A( P 0.05). There was a significant correlation between the depth(b) of nasa oesophagus-tracheal introducer and the distance(a) from the root of alae nasi to the tragus of ear( r=0.9118,P 0.01), and the linear regressive equation was b=11.85+1.022a(cm). Conclusion The method of oesophagus-light-guided tracheal intubation using BTII can be used in kinds of difficult intubation. It has clinical spread value.