Experience of an anesthesiologist as a predictor of difficulty during videolaryngoscopy

Background and Aim: Tracheal intubation using a videolaryngoscope does not require the alignment of the Oro-pharyngeal-laryngeal axes as is the case with direct laryngoscopes. The predictors of difficult direct laryngoscopy may thus, not be applicable to predict a difficult videolaryngoscopy. This study aims to assess the effect of years of experience of an anesthesiologist on the difficulty encountered during KingVision videolaryngoscope guided tracheal intubation. Methods: This prospective randomized study was conducted in a tertiary care teaching institute on 88 consenting adult patients of either sex and ASA physical status I-III and Mallampatti score I-IV scheduled for elective surgical procedures requiring G A with tracheal intubation (TI). Patients were randomized to one of the two groups, group C (intubation by a consultant) or group R (intubation by resident). Standard anesthesia technique was followed and KingVision videolaryngoscope was used to perform all intubations. Proportion of difficult intubations in each group was compared using Chi square/Fisher’s exact test. Quantitative parameters were analyzed using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s test and Mann Whitney’s U-test. A P value < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: The proportion of difficult intubations ( P = 0.668), first attempt success rate ( P = 0.799) and intubation difficulty score ( P = 0.990) were comparable between the two groups. Laryngoscopy time, tube insertion time and intubation time was also comparable. Conclusion: The years of experience of an anesthesiologist was found to have no effect on the difficulty encountered during KingVision videolaryngoscope guided tracheal intubation.