Comparing the rate of fiberoptic bronchoscopy use with a video double lumen tube versus a conventional double lumen tube—a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Double lumen endotracheal tubes (DLT) are commonly used to provide single lung ventilation during thoracic surgery. A fiberoptic bronchoscope (FOB) is typically used to confirm accurate DLT placement. Accounting for initial purchase, maintenance, repair and cleaning, the use of an FOB can cost as much as $312 per procedure. The VivaSight DLT (VS-DLT) incorporates a built-in camera, which is aimed at reducing FOB use and its associated costs. In this study, we compared the rate of FOB use when intubating using either a VS-DLT or a conventional DLT (c-DLT). METHODS: This is a randomized controlled comparative study performed at a public county teaching hospital. A total of 50 patients were enrolled and randomly assigned to either a c-DLT (n=25) or a VS-DLT (n=25). The primary outcome was the rate of FOB use. Secondary outcomes included time to correct tube placement and incidence of malposition during surgery. RESULTS: Use of the VS-DLT required significantly less FOB use (28%) compared to use of the c-DLT (100%). While there was no difference in the ease of intubation, the time to correct tube placement was significantly faster using a VS-DLT (54 vs. 156 s, P<0.001). Additionally, the incidence of tube malposition was significantly reduced in the VS-DLT group. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated a significantly lower rate of FOB use when using a VS-DLT compared to a c-DLT. Placement of the VS-DLT was significantly quicker and malposition during surgery occurred significantly less than with the c-DLT. While intubating with a VS-DLT provides clinical benefits, it may not result in significant cost reductions when compared to a c-DLT.