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. 2019 Oct;47(5):387-391.
doi: 10.5152/TJAR.2019.28909. Epub 2019 May 20.

Fibreoptic Orotracheal Intubation of Obese Patients Using Parker Flex-Tip vs. Standard Endotracheal Tube

Lee C Chang  1 , Susan C Lee  1 , Andrew L Ding  1 , Suman Rajagopalan  1
Affiliations

Fibreoptic Orotracheal Intubation of Obese Patients Using Parker Flex-Tip vs. Standard Endotracheal Tube

Lee C Chang et al. Turk J Anaesthesiol Reanim. 2019 Oct.

Abstract

Objective: Advancement of the endotracheal tube through a fibreoptic scope can sometimes prove to be challenging in obese patients. The Parker Flex-Tip endotracheal tube was developed with a curved and tapered distal tip to facilitate easier placement in the trachea. This study examined the use of the Parker Flex-Tip tube as compared to standard endotracheal tubes in patients with a body mass index of 30 or greater.

Methods: Sixty patients undergoing surgery requiring general anaesthesia were randomised into two groups. Using the fibreoptic scope, one group was intubated with the Parker Flex-Tip tube and the other group with a standard polyvinyl Portex tube. The time for intubation and the number of attempts required to place the endotracheal tube were measured and recorded.

Results: Using the Mann-Whitney U rank sum test, the median time needed for intubation with the two types of endotracheal tubes did not show a significant difference. The chi-square analyses were conducted for the number of attempts needed to place the endotracheal tubes, which also did not demonstrate any significant difference.

Conclusions: Parker Flex-Tip endotracheal tube was not superior to the standard endotracheal tubes for fibreoptic intubation in obese patients.

Keywords: Endotracheal tube; Parker Flex-Tip; fibreoptic intubation; obesity.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Example of concealed ETT ETT: endotracheal tube
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comparison of PFT to SP endotracheal tube PFT: Parker Flex-Tip tube; SP: standard Portex tube
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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