Tracheal intubation using the Airtraq in morbid obese patients undergoing emergency cesarean delivery.

THE Airtraq (Prodol Meditec S.A., Vizcaya, Spain), a new disposable intubating device, was designed to provide a view of the glottis without alignment of the oral and pharyngeal axes. The Airtraq laryngoscope (AL) has recently been used in patients with normal airways and in simulated difficult airways, but no study has assessed its performance in difficult airway patients. After training on a manikin, five senior staff anesthesiologists covering the obstetric anesthesia unit of our university hospital performed the clinical learning process with the AL. Because of its efficiency in the case of difficult tracheal intubation, the AL was incorporated into our emergency difficult airway management algorithm as a second-step airway device in the case of failed tracheal intubation using a standard Macintosh laryngoscope. We report two cases of emergency cesarean delivery parturients in whom the trachea was rapidly intubated using the AL after failed direct laryngoscopy. We discuss the place of the AL in a difficult airway management algorithm in parturients.