The Pentax-AWS is particularly suitable for facilitating intubation in edentulous geriatric patients

Abstract

tion, the percentage of glottic opening (POGO) score [1], the intubation diffi culty scale (IDS) [2], and the number of intubation attempts were recorded. The time for intubation was defi ned as the time taken from the blade fi rst passing the incisors until passage of the tracheal tube was completed. Data were analyzed using the unpaired t-test and the χ 2 test, and P < 0.05 was considered signifi cant. Patient profi les were not different between the groups, except for the inter-incisor distance (IID). There was a signifi cant difference between the groups in the anatomical structure observed after the initial blade rotation maneuver; the vocal cords were more frequently observed in the FD group. The total time for intubation was signifi cantly less in the FD group than the NT group. The POGO score, IDS, and number of intubation attempts did not differ between the groups (Table 1). Our result showed that intubation with the AWS was facilitated when the patients were edentulous. It seems that the increased IID in the edentulous patients may have been responsible for this result. As a consequence of the lack of teeth, the working space necessary for AWS manipulation was increased. This may have facilitated the insertion of the blade tip behind the epiglottis after blade rotation, resulting in faster laryngeal exposure and subsequent faster intubation.