Reviews of the Prodol Meditec Airtraq Guided Video Intubation | Which Medical Device

The Airtraq range is one of a number of optical laryngoscopes currently available.

Airtraq devices come in a range of colour-coded sizes, from Infant (size 0) to regular (size 3), and several specialised versions are also available (naso-tracheal intubation or double lumen tube devices).

For practitioners familiar with intubation, the learning curve for Airtraq is intuitive and rapid.

Compared with conventional laryngoscopes, the insertion of, and view provided by optical laryngoscopes are slightly different. A suitably sized, lubricated endotracheal tube (size 7-8.5 for the size 3 Airtraq) is placed in the groove alongside the Airtraq blade, and the assembly inserted along the midline of the mouth, over the tongue, providing a view of the laryngeal inlet. Tracheal intubation is facilitated by the direct vision provided.

I have found Airtraq worthwhile predominantly for difficult intubation situations, especially in the pre-hospital environment, where the battery operation and disposable nature of the Airtraq provide real advantages over other, more complex optical devices. I have found patients with reduced mouth opening, immobile necks or high anterior larynxes are easier to intubate using Airtraq than conventional laryngoscopes, even using a gum elastic bougie. On occasion, I have successfully used the Airtraq to view passage of a bougie into the trachea, followed by a blind, bougie guided intubation.

Overall, I would select a size 3 Airtraq as my backup “desert island” airway device after a size 4 Mackintosh blade with gum elastic bougie.

Dr Ian Nesbitt, Anaesthesia & Critical Care Consultant, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK - No Conflict Declared 

Ian Nesbitt qualified from Newcastle upon Tyne Medical School, trained in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. He works as a consultant in the NHS in Anaesthesia & Critical Care.