Comparison of the Pentax AWS® With the Macintosh Laryngoscopic Intubation in Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome Patients

The occurrence of difficult intubation in OSAS patients is higher than in age and sex matched control patients. The Pentax-AWS\_ system (AWS; Pentax Corporation, Tokyo, Japan) is a new rigid indirect laryngoscope which has an integrated tube passage function. Several studies reported that Pentax-AWS improved the laryngeal view and guide also facilitated rapid, easy and reliable tracheal intubation in patients undergoing elective surgery. The purpose of this clinical trial was to evaluate the relative efficacy of the AWS laryngoscopes when used by experienced anesthetists in OSAS patients and to compare its performance with the Macintosh laryngoscope. The investigators hypothesized that, in comparison with the Macintosh, AWS would reduce intubation difficulty, as measured by the intubation difficulty scale (IDS) score.