GlideScope® Cobalt AVL Video Baton for Intubation in Infants Weighing Less Than 10 Kilograms

Abstract

Background: The use of videolaryngoscopes (VL) within pediatric anesthesia has become more prominent in younger and smaller neonates and infants. This prospective study utilizes the GlideScope® Cobalt AVL Video Baton (GSC) as a tool for orotracheal intubation in pediatric patients weighing less than 10 kg scheduled for surgery. We hypothesized that the GSC would yield a high success rate, along with intubation times less than 30 seconds and a majority of optimal glottic views, regardless of user experience.Methods: Two hundred pediatric subjects, less than 10 kg in weight, undergoing surgical procedures with general anesthesia underwent orotracheal intubation using the GSC. Time to best glottic view, time to intubation, total intubation time, Cormack and Lehane grade, and number of intubation attempts were documented.Results: Our results showed a 90% (180/200) first-attempt success rate and an overall success rate of 99% (198/200) with the GlideScope® Cobalt blade. The mean (±SE) time to best view (TTBV) and time to intubation (TTI) were 6.2±5.5 seconds and 14.0±14.3 seconds, respectively. The mean (±SE) total intubation time (TIT) was 19.5±16.3 seconds, with a Cormack and Lehane grade 1 view in almost 90% of patients.Conclusions: This study demonstrates a high first-attempt intubation success rate in pediatric patients weighing less than 10 kg with the GlideScope® Cobalt videolaryngoscope, regardless of user experience. In addition to this, intubation times of less than 30 seconds, improved glottic views, and a low incidence of complications were demonstrated with this device. Citation:  Patrick N. Olomu, Asif Khan, Jeffrey Steiner, Edgar Kiss, Roxana Ploski, Peter Szmuk. GlideScope® Cobalt AVL Video Baton for intubation in infants weighing less than 10 kilograms. J Anesth Perioper Med 2016; 3: 236-40. doi: 10.24015/JAPM.2016.0032This is an open-access article, published by Evidence Based Communications (EBC). This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format for any lawful purpose. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.