Forces generated by Macintosh and GlideScope® laryngoscopes in four airway-training manikins.

Abstract

We measured forces generated by Macintosh and GlideScope(®) laryngoscope blades during airway intubation by 16 participants in four manikins: Laerdal(®) SimMan; TruCorp AirSim™ Advance; Laerdal(®) Airway Management Trainer; and Ambu(®) Airway Man. Both laryngoscopes generated the least force in the Laerdal Airway Management Trainer and the most in the Ambu Airway Man. The respective median (IQR [range]) forces generated by the Macintosh blade were 2 (1-4 [1-7]) N vs 9 (7-13 [5-16]) N, p = 0.00004, with peak forces 9 (5-11 [3-16]) N vs 18 (12-22 [3-31]) N, p = 0.0004. The respective average and peak forces generated by the GlideScope blade were 1 (1-2 [0-3]) N vs 4 (3-5 [2-6]) N, p = 0.00001, and 4 (2-7 [0-12]) N vs 7 (4-9 [3-18]) N, p = 0.054.