Use of Airtraq as a rescue device in intensive care unit

Abstract

Inability to secure an airway in a hypoxic patient is a nightmare for every anaesthesiologist. The challenge doubles when such situations occur outside the operating room. Many new airway devices have been designed to overcome this difficulty. Airtraq is a videolaryngoscope which has been successfully used in the operating room as a rescue device during difficult laryngoscopy. We describe two such scenarios where Airtraq was used successfully to secure the airway in patients with poor or no glottic view on direct laryngoscopy