Evaluation of the CEL‐100 videolaryngoscopeTM for double‐lumen tracheal tube insertion after failure using the Macintosh laryngoscope

Summary We prospectively evaluated the CEL-100 videolaryngoscopeTM for insertion of double-lumen tracheal tubes in 48 consecutive patients who had been found to have an unanticipated Cormack and Lehane grade 3 (n = 43) and grade 4 (n = 5) laryngeal view and in whom two attempts at tracheal intubation using the Macintosh laryngoscope had failed. When the CEL-100 was subsequently employed, the glottic view improved in 45 (94%) patients. The view improved by one grade in 15 (31%) patients and by two grades in 30 (63%) patients, compared with the Macintosh blade (p < 0.001). Double-lumen tracheal tube insertion was successful when using the CEL-100 in 43 out of 48 patients (90%; 95% CI 81–98%). This occurred on the first attempt in 27 (56%) patients, 14 (29%) on the second and two (4%) on the third. We conclude that the CEL-100 videolaryngoscope is an effective device in this context, and we therefore propose that this device can be used in circumstances when double-lumen tube insertion proves difficult.