Comparison by Neuromonitoring of Two Techniques of Tracheal Intubation in Patients With Unstable Cervical Spine

Patients who present with an unstable cervical spine following an accident need a general anesthesia for the necessary surgery.

Commonly, the management of the tracheal intubation is performed by a fiberoptic technique (historic gold standard technique).

However, changes in equipment availability and quality may challenge the fiberoptic intubation technique.

We wish to compare the tracheal intubations performed with the Airtraq in comparison with the fiberscopic technique.

Primary outcomes will be the changes in neurophysiologic responses monitored by a neurophysiologist in 5 specific phases:

• Basal potential (BM): neuromonitoring while the patient is anesthetized, no movements
• Ventilation potential (VM): neuromonitoring while the patient is anesthetized and a bag-mask ventilation is performed
• Intubation potential (IP): neuromonitoring while the patient is being intubated with one of the two randomized devices
• Post Intubation (PI): neuromonitoring after the patient has been intubated
• Post Positioning (PP): neuromonitoring after the patient has been properly positioned on the operating table and is ready for surgery

Inclusion criteria

• unstable cervical spine due to a cervical vertebra fracture
• American Society of Anesthesia classification 1-3
• BMI < 30 kg/m2
• patients necessitating a general anesthesia for surgery

Exclusion criteria

• patient refusal
• ASA >3
• mouth opening < 15mm
• patients with known history of previous orotracheal tumor surgery