Fibreoptic intubation using the cuffed oropharyngeal airway and Aintree intubation catheter

A cuffed oropharyngeal airway has recently been introduced which has larger internal dimensions than a comparable Guedel airway. This allows a ventilation/exchange bougie, the Aintree Intubation Catheter, mounted on a fibreoptic laryngoscope to pass through it. Its 15-mm connector and pharyngeal cuff suggested the possibility of using a Rusch sealed-port angle piece to allow ventilation through the oropharyngeal airway during fibreoptic laryngoscopy. This study investigated using this equipment to intubate the trachea through the cuffed oropharyngeal airway in paralysed patients, whilst maintaining ventilation manually with a Bain system. In 20 patients, airway control was satisfactory throughout and tracheal intubation was accomplished without complications. The cuffed oropharyngeal airway was easy to manipulate to improve a suboptimal fibreoptic view of the larynx. This may give it an advantage over the laryngeal mask airway when used as a ventilation/intubation conduit.