The i-view® Video Laryngoscope Compared With the Macintosh Laryngoscope Does Not Enhance the Endotracheal Intubation Skills of Dental Students

Background A disposable i-view^® video laryngoscope (Intersurgical Limited, Berkshire, United Kingdom) is yet to be used to educate medical and dental students, who must learn endotracheal intubation skills. Additionally, the advantage of the i-view^® use for the purpose, compared with the Macintosh laryngoscope, is unknown. We aimed to first determine whether the i-view^® video laryngoscope enhances endotracheal intubation skills among dental students compared with the Macintosh laryngoscope. Methodology A prospective, observational, simulation study was conducted among 67 dental students in their sixth clinical year of education. Intubation skills were evaluated on a computer-assisted simulator with a standardized manikin. Each student was asked to intubate using the conventional Macintosh laryngoscope and the i-view^® video laryngoscope in the trachea of the simulator's manikin. We collected objective data, including the retroflection angle of the manikin, the maxillary incisor contact pressure, time from picking up the laryngoscope to ventilation, intubation success, and intubation delay. Each student was further asked to grade their subjective evaluation concerning the visual field, Cormack and Lehane classification, operability, stability, needed force for intubation, and easiness during intubation. Results Enrolled dental students quoted that the i-view^® video laryngoscope demonstrated better visual field, Cormack and Lehane classification, operability, and stability than the Macintosh laryngoscope. However, they felt intubation easiness could have been better using Macintosh than i-view^®. Intubation time, failure rate, and delay rate did not differ between the two laryngoscopes. Nevertheless, the maxillary incisor contact pressure (median interquartile range (IQR)) during the intubation increased in the i-view^® intubation compared with Macintosh (32 (24 to 41) vs. 25 (18 to 35) N, p = 0.010). Conclusions We first demonstrated that the i-view^® video laryngoscope compared with the Macintosh laryngoscope does not enhance the endotracheal intubation skills of dental students. However, the possible repeated use as an educational simulator training tool may add some advantages to the experience of video laryngoscope in both medical and dental students.