Videolaringoscopía para intubación pediátrica, en comparación con la intubación orotraqueal clásica. Hospital Vicente Corral Moscoso, Cuenca, 2018

Abstract

Introduction: A relevant aspect in pediatric anesthesia is the management of the airway. Anatomical differences in this population makes them more susceptible to devices designed for their management. Video laryngoscopy improves panoramic vision of the glottis. Objective: To compare the use of video laryngoscopy with direct laryngoscopy for orotracheal intubation in pediatric patients. Methods: With an observational descriptive design, 276 cases were studied, patients from 5 to 17 years old, undergoing planned surgery, with general anesthesia plus orotracheal intubation. The specialist decided on the handling device. The data was transcribed from the forms and analyzed with the SPSS 22.0 program. The descriptive analysis was based on median, mode, average, minimum value, maximum value. Standard deviation and range dispersion measurements. A value of p ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The average age of the study was 9.83 years. With direct laryngoscopy 97.4% intubation was performed at the first attempt and with video laryngoscopy 88.4% (p = 0.003). In 94.2% of cases of direct laryngoscopy, a successful intubation was performed in less than 10 seconds, with video laryngoscopy it was 75.2% (p = 0.000). Complications occurred in 6.6% of intubations with video laryngoscopy versus 2.6% with conventional laryngoscopy (p = 0.103). 56.2% of specialists prefer direct laryngoscopy to manage a pediatric airway without predictors of difficulty. Conclusions: Video laryngoscopy provides additional support in routine airway management, always requiring prior knowledge and skills. The evidence to support one technique over another is insufficient.