SummaryStudies show that both straight blade laryngoscopy and videolaryngoscopy can improve the view of the larynx when compared with the Macintosh blade laryngoscopy. However, no study has compared these two devices. A total of 80 patients with Mallampati grade ≥ 3 were randomly assigned to either have orotracheal intubation with the McGrath® videolaryngoscope or the Henderson straight blade. The primary outcome was laryngoscopic view. Time to intubation, number of attempts, ease of intubation and complications were also recorded. Thirty‐nine out of 40 patients had grade‐1 views in the McGrath group, compared with 29 out of 40 cases in the Henderson group (p = 0.003). There were no statistically significant differences in the secondary outcomes. Two patients suffered from minor oropharyngeal injuries in the Henderson group. Apart from offering significantly more grade‐1 laryngoscopic views, the McGrath videolaryngoscope did not improve other clinical outcomes compared with the straight blade, when used in patients with poor Mallampati scores.

Graphical abstract

Background: Labor pain is a variable and complex experience with both sensory and affective components. Pain catastrophizing tendencies are predictive of increased distress during labor. Likewise, pain severity has important associations with increased depressive symptoms in mothers, with consequences on perinatal and infant outcomes. Hence, we investigated the association between increased early labor pain with both pre-delivery pain catastrophizing and depressive states. Methods: We recruited nulliparous women who had requested labor epidural analgesia. Predelivery questionnaires including short-form McGill pain questionnaire-2 (SF-MPQ-2), pain catastrophizing scale (PCS), and Edinburgh postnatal depression score (EPDS) were administered. Results: A total of 712 women completed the pre-delivery questionnaires. There was a significant association between SF-MPQ-2 neuropathic subscale and EPDS ≥ 10 (unadjusted OR 1.74, 95% CI 1.11-2.73, p = 0.0161), as well as PCS ≥ 25 (unadjusted OR 1.55, 95% CI 1.06-2.26, p = 0.0244). SF-MPQ-2 sensory intermittent subscale and EPDS ≥ 10 (unadjusted OR 2.02, 95% CI 1.34-3.03, p = 0.0007), and PCS ≥ 25 (unadjusted OR 1.59, 95% CI 1.14-2.23, p = 0.0069) also showed significant association. Conclusion: Increased sensory intermittent and neuropathic subsets of early labor pain are significantly correlated with increased pre-delivery pain catastrophizing and depressive states in nulliparous women. This positive association may be useful for pre-delivery risk stratification for early interventions towards a more holistic care management.

Background Perioperative smoking is associated with an increased incidence of general postoperative morbidity and mortality. The perioperative period is recognized as an important “teachable moment” that can motivate patients to adopt health changing behaviors. Objective In this study, we aimed to determine the prevalence of smokers among elective surgical patients in an Asian tertiary hospital. We also investigated their smoking characteristics, previous quitting attempts, readiness-to-quit status as well as knowledge of smoking-related postoperative complications. Methods We conducted a single-center prospective cohort study among all patients who attended a preoperative assessment clinic within a 2-month period (August to September 2020) using a preoperative smoking questionnaire. Results A total of 3362 patients participated in the study, of which 348 (10.4%) were current smokers. More than half (65.6%) of the smokers had previously attempted to quit smoking, with most (78%) having made more than one attempt. Forty-nine percent of current smokers were in the pre-contemplation stage of quitting and thirty-one percent were in the contemplation stage. Only twenty-one percent were in the preparation stage of quitting. Thirty-eight percent of patients recognized the importance of smoking cessation perioperatively but only twenty-eight percent were confident of quitting perioperatively. Less than sixty percent of smokers were aware of at least one type of smoking-related postoperative complication. Less than half of the patients (45%) had ever received advice on perioperative smoking cessation from the surgeons. Conclusion A thorough understanding of smokers’ smoking characteristics, barriers to quit and readiness-to-quit status are crucial to establishing a successful multidisciplinary perioperative smoking cessation program. Counselling should address knowledge deficits and be tailored to a patient’s stage-of-change in order to seize this precious perioperative “teachable moment”.

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