Comparison of Standard and Endoscope Assisted Endotracheal Intubation

Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) procedures are typically performed using general anesthesia. During anesthesia, the anesthesiologist inserts a breathing tube (endotracheal tube) into the patient's wind pipe (trachea) and a machine helps the patient breathe (mechanical ventilation) while they are unconscious. The breathing tube is inserted with a patient laying on his/her back using a rigid metallic device (laryngoscope) to guide tube placement. The unconscious patient is then moved from the portable bed onto the X-ray table by nursing staff. The patient also has to be turned to lie on their stomach on the X-ray table for the procedure. This standard approach carries a small risk of patient injury during breathing tube placement as well as while moving and turning the unconscious patient onto the X-ray table. At our endoscopy unit, endoscopists have, on several occasions, used a slim gastroscope to place the breathing tube under direct visualization in patients who are already positioned on their stomach for ERCP. This approach is rapid and has been uniformly successful and safe. We hypothesize that this endoscopist-facilitated intubation approach may expedite the procedure and minimize ergonomic strain for staff during patient repositioning while minimizing patient injury during breathing tube placement and repositioning. This study seeks to formally compares the two approaches for placement of a breathing tube.