Efficacy of atomised local anaesthetic versus transtracheal topical anaesthesia for awake fibreoptic intubation

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Successful awake fibreoptic intubation (AFOI) depends on adequate topical anaesthesia of the airway. We aimed to compare efficacy of atomised local anaesthetic versus transtracheal topical anaesthesia for AFOI. METHODS It was a prospective, randomised controlled study of 33 patients with the American Society of Anesthesiologists' physical status 1-3 with anticipated difficult airway requiring AFOI. The primary objective was to compare the patient comfort after topical anaesthesia of the airway using atomiser with transtracheal injection of the local anaesthetic agent for AFOI in patients with anticipated difficult airway. The secondary objectives were to compare the ease of intubation, time required to intubate and the haemodynamic changes during intubation. After topical anaesthesia of nostrils, patients in Group T received transtracheal injection of 4 ml of 4% lignocaine whereas Group A patients received 4-5mL of 4% atomised lignocaine using DeVilbiss atomiser before AFOI. Patient comfort assessed objectively by the anaesthetic assistant during the procedure, ease of intubation assessed using cough and gag reflex score, time taken to intubate and the haemodynamic changes during the procedure were compared. RESULTS Ease of intubation, patient comfort and the time taken to intubate were significantly better in Group T patients, with P = 0.001, 0.009 and 0.019, respectively, compared with the patients in Group A. There were no significant changes in haemodynamic parameters. CONCLUSION Topical anaesthesia by transtracheal injection in patients with anticipated difficult airway made AFOI easier and faster with better patient comfort compared to atomiser with no clinically significant untoward side effects.