Purpose: In emergency situations, rescuers must occasionally secure the airway while the patient is in a restricted position rather than in the ideal supine position. We hypothesized that the Pentax-AWS Airway Scope (AWS) may be useful for emergent tracheal intubation in such positions.
Methods: Thirteen non-anesthesia residents performed tracheal intubation on a simulated manikin in the supine (Supine), left-lateral decubitus (Left-LT), right-lateral decubitus (Right-LT), prone (Prone), and sitting (Sitting) position, respectively, to assess AWS performance.
Results: Intubations were successful in all five positions. The time needed to secure the airway did not differ significantly between the Left-LT and Supine positions. Doctors required significantly more time to secure the airway in the Prone, Sitting, and Right-LT positions than in the Supine position. Visual analog scale (VAS) scoring of the subjective difficulty of laryngoscopy was lower in the Supine position rather than in the Right-LT, Prone, and Sitting positions. The VAS score of subjective difficulty of tracheal tube passage through the glottis was significantly higher in the Sitting position than in the other four positions.
Conclusion: Although tracheal intubations with AWS in all five positions tested were successful, intubation with the patient in the Sitting, Right-LT, and Prone positions was more difficult and required more time than that in the Supine position.