D-Blade from Karl Storz Improves View in Difficult Airway

The “difficult airway,” when a good view of the glottis cannot be easily obtained, can be a nightmare for even the most experienced anesthesiologist. The advent of video laryngoscopy has helped this situation, and a new attachment for Karl Storz’ C-MAC system, the D-BLADE, looks promising to advance the state of the art even further. This blade is more curved than most video laryngoscope blades, which is supposed to bring the vocal cords into view more easily.
An article in the latest Anesthesia and Analgesia evaluated this new device, and found that it did as well or better than a traditional Macintosh blade in routine intubations. The real test came when the study authors had a poor view with a Macintosh blade. In these patients, the D-BLADE improved the view from a C/L view 3 or 4 to a I or IIa, thus suggesting the use of this blade as a rescue device. Of note, due to the extreme curvature of the blade, a “semiflexible tube guide” was required as part of the intubation. See the links below for the product page and abstract and here’s a YouTube demonstration of how to use this new tool correctly and incorrectly.
Abstract in Anesthesia & Analgesia: First Clinical Evaluation of the C-MAC D-Blade Videolaryngoscope During Routine and Difficult Intubation
Product page: D-BLADE…