Laryngoscopic techniques modulate anaesthesiologists’ perception of halitosis in patients: A randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND Perception of halitosis in patients during intubation is a common and additional stressor for anaesthesiologists and may lead to potential health risks. OBJECTIVES We hypothesised that intubation with videolaryngoscopy could help reduce the anaesthesiologists’ perception of patients’ oral malodor during intubation. DESIGN A single-blinded, randomised controlled trial. SETTING Single centre general hospital, Guangdong Province, China. PARTICIPANTS A total of 440 patients who underwent intubation under general anaesthesia for elective surgery, aged 18 to 60 years old, American Society of Anaesthesiologists class I to III, without upper airway abnormality or airway infection were enrolled. INTERVENTION Patients were randomly assigned to receive either UE videolaryngoscopy (UE) or Macintosh's direct laryngoscopy (Macintosh) group. All intubations were performed by one of six very experienced anaesthesiologists. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The patient's oral odour score was measured prior to induction of anaesthesia. The anaesthesiologists’ perception of the patient's oral malodor during intubation was recorded. The shortest distance from patient's mouth to the anaesthesiologist's nose (MN distance), the exertion rating and discomfort were also measured. RESULTS The oral malodor score did not differ in the UE and Macintosh groups prior to the induction of anaesthesia. However, the incidence of the anaesthesiologists’ perception of halitosis duri...
Source: European Journal of Anaesthesiology - Category: Anesthesiology Tags: Original articles - Christmas issue Source Type: research