Reduced mouth opening in adults has been proven an important risk factor for difficult endotracheal intubation utilizing both direct and indirect laryngoscopy techniques, and a major reason for anesthesia-related adverse events. Over the past two decades, videolaryngoscopy has evolved to be the primary indirect laryngoscopy technique in a difficult endotracheal intubation setting. The possibility for optimal visualization of the laryngeal structures renders this method particularly helpful in patients with limited mouth opening. Especially videolaryngoscopy with acute-angle blades has been proposed to be favorable over conventional direct laryngoscopy in this setting. However, previous research has shown that a mouth opening of approximately 2.0 - 3.0 cm represents an independent risk factor and a possible critical lower limit for safe videolaryngoscopic intubation.~The latest generation of GlideScopeTM Spectrum blades may provide sufficient intubation conditions even in patients with a maximum mouth opening below 3.0 cm.~Our research group aims to evaluate the clinical performance, quality of larynx visualization and severity of videolaryngoscopic intubation the GlideScopeTM Spectrum system in patients with a small mouth opening.
This study aims to evaluate the clinical performance, quality of larynx visualization and difficulty of videolaryngoscopic intubation in patients with a reduced mouth opening (1.0 to 3.0 cm) utilizing the latest generation of GlideScopeTM Spectrum low profile laryngoscopy system.