Airway Assessment, Video laryngoscopy

Cormack-Lehane Grading Examples

Here are some real-life examples of Cormack-Lehane classification of laryngoscopic view taken with a video laryngoscope.  Although initially described for direct laryngoscopy in obstetric patients, it is a useful descriptive system in many settings, but is frequently misreported and/or misunderstood.  We will continue to expand the set as we collect good images.

Original and revised (Yentis & Lee, 1998) CL grading:

Click to access the paper in Anaesthesiology, 1998

Colour-coded to make it a little easier to read:

…and here from the CoPilot VL material, a more anatomically-correct sketch which shows the distinction between 2a and 2b clearly:

Cormack–Lehane 1:Cormack-Lehane 1

Cormack-Lehane 2a:Cormack-Lehane 2a

Cormack-Lehane 2b:2014.01.16_08.04.59 Cormack-Lehane 2b (nearly 3)

Cormack-Lehane 3:2014.02.03_10.21.59 Cormack-Lehane 3a

Cormack-Lehane 4:2013.09.20_11.19.39_tongue CL4

See the original article by RS Cormack and J Lehane in Anaesthesia, 1994;(39):1105-1111.

Various modifications to this scheme have been proposed for use with video laryngoscopy (VL), including suggestions by Cook and Fremantle:

cry_redusaabnj

freemantly-vl-grading

 

Research, Supraglottics, Video laryngoscopy

TotalTrack for Intubation in OSA

Video

The TotalTrack is a new video laryngeal mask that allows intubation through the device without interruption of ventilation.  Recruitment of the first independent clinical trial is well underway in Cape Town, with European studies nearing commencement.  Here is an example video taken with the device, showing intubation in a patient with severe obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA).

Paediatric, Video laryngoscopy

Bougie-assisted intubation snagging on arytenoid

Video

This common problem is worst with small bougies, such as in this paediatric example of a child with severe burns and a difficult airway.  The bevel of the ETT allows the tip of the tube to stick out right (laterally) of the bougie and snag on the right arytenoid cartilage.  This can be remedied by withdrawing the ETT slightly (to disengage it from the arytenoid), effecting a one-quarter counter-clockwise rotation of the ETT on the bougie (bringing the bevel and tip of the ETT into a superior midline position snug with the bougie), and then advancing again.

Administrivia

Here we go…

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Open access meducation for all aspects of airway management