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BJA Advance Access published online on February 20, 2006
British Journal of Anaesthesia, doi:10.1093/bja/ael029
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© The Board of Management and Trustees of the British Journal of Anaesthesia 2006. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org
Accepted January 18, 2006

Clinical Investigation

Evaluation of the CTrachTM--an intubating LMA with integrated fibreoptic system{dagger}

A. Timmermann 1 *, S. Russo 1, and B. M. Graf 1

1 Department of Anaesthesiology, Emergency and Intensive Care Medicine, Georg August University Medical School, Goettingen, Germany

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
A. Timmermann, E-mail: atimmer{at}zari.de


  Abstract

Background. The laryngeal mask airway CTrachTM (CTrach) is a variant of the intubating laryngeal mask airway. It provides visualization of the larynx during intubation and is designed to increase the success rates of ventilation and tracheal intubation.

Methods. Sixty healthy anaesthetized and paralysed patients with normal airways were studied. The success rates of ventilation and intubation using CTrachTM were determined. Laryngeal view scoring ranged from grade I (full view of arytenoids and glottis), II (arytenoids and glottis partly visible), III (view of arytenoids, glottis or epiglottis blurred, or view clear with only epiglottis visible) to IV (no part of larynx identifiable). Adjusting manoeuvres were undertaken to improve the laryngeal view in grades II or worse.

Results. CTrach insertion and ventilation was possible in all patients. Initial views were scored as grade I in 22 (36.7%), grade II in 14 (23.3%), grade III in 7 (11.7%) and grade IV in 17 (28.3%) patients. Adjusting manoeuvres were undertaken in 38 patients with grade II and worse (63.3%), resulting in improved views of grade I in 33 (55.0%), grade II in 18 (30.0%), grade III in 4 (6.7%) and grade IV in 5 (8.3%) patients. Tracheal intubation was successful in 58 (96.6 %) patients at first attempt and in one at second. Tracheal intubation failed once.

Conclusions. In 60 patients with normal airways, the CTrach was used successfully for ventilation, with successful tracheal intubation in 59 patients. Tracheal intubation can be successful despite grade III or IV views.

Keywords: equipment, airway; laryngeal mask, CTrach; equipment, tubes tracheal; ventilation, mechanical.
{dagger}Declaration of interest: The corresponding author assures that the authors have no relationships with any firm whose product is mentioned in this article nor with any firm marketing a rival product. A total of five CTrach devices were used in this study, two of them were provided on loan by the LMA Deutschland GmbH for the duration of the study. The purchase of the CTrach included a 1-day training course given by one of the developers in Reading, UK.
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c-Trach performance and large population appraisal
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British Journal of Anaesthesia, 2 Apr 2006 [Full text]
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