Evaluation of the disposable Vital View™ laryngoscope

Abstract

The Vital View laryngoscope (Vital Signs, NJ, USA) consists of a plastic disposable blade containing a fibrelight and a non-disposable handle; there is therefore no need to sterilise the blade and no concern about disintegration of the fibrelight. In a random cross-over design, we compared the Vital View laryngoscope with a conventional metal fibrelight laryngoscope (Welch Allyn, NY, USA) in 100 patients. The Vital View laryngoscope produced a brighter field than the metal laryngoscope (p < 0.001), whereas there was no significant difference in the view of the glottis or the success rate of tracheal intubation. In no patient did any problem occur, such as damage to the laryngoscope blade or loss of light during laryngoscopy. In another 10 patients, prevention of light emission from the side of the laryngoscope blade reduced the brightness (p < 0. 01). This indicated that the brightness of the Vital View laryngoscope is produced by light emission not only from the tip of the blade but also from the side of the blade. Therefore, the disposable Vital View laryngoscope can be used as effectively as a conventional non-disposable laryngoscope.

Laryngoscope plastic blades in scheduled general anesthesia patients: a comparative randomized study

“…As for Vital View blades, two previous clinical studies did not find any difference with standard blades [20,21]. In a randomized study of 100 patients (crossover design), Asai et al found no significant difference between the plastic blade and the standard Macintosh blades in laryngoscopic view of the glottis [20]. Our earlier observational study also compared Vital View blades and standard Macintosh blades and found similar results [21].…”

“…Our results were different. As for Vital View blades, two previous clinical studies did not find any difference with standard blades [20,21]. In a randomized study of 100 patients (crossover design), Asai et al found no significant difference between the plastic blade and the standard Macintosh blades in laryngoscopic view of the glottis [20].…”

“…Asai et al showed that the Vital Sign laryngoscope produced a brighter field than did a conventional laryngoscope [20]. An unpublished study a evaluated the characteristics of 11 blades, including the Vital Sign and Heine blades.…”

A comparison of 20 laryngoscope blades using an intubating manikin: visual analogue scores and forces exerted during laryngoscopy*

“…Single-use devices could therefore offer a safer practice, provided they perform as well as the re-usable devices they are intended to replace. Asai et al [13] claimed that one single-use plastic laryngoscope blade assessed in 100 patients was easy to use and was not different from a re-usable metal laryngoscope blade. In contrast, Evans and colleagues [14] demonstrated that three plastic single-use blades did not perform as well as metal blades.…”

Flexibility and light emission of disposable paediatric Miller 1 laryngoscope blades*

“…Disposable adult laryngoscopes have been investigated both in patients [5] and in the laboratory [4,6,7] with varying results. Blade design often changes during the manufacturing process [8,9], and therefore blades from different manufacturers may have different characteristics.…”