Annals of Anesthesiology and Critical Care

Abstract

The laryngoscope blade has a potential role for cross
infection due to its contamination with bacteria, blood,
and microorganisms. Cleaning the laryngoscope blade
has various methods in different countries. Most operating
rooms have no guidelines for laryngoscope disinfection
after each usage (1). Some use tap water for cleaning
which is an inadequate method while others add disinfectant
to tap water which is more effective for the control
of infection, but this may result in the emergence of
resistant bacteria. There are so many disinfectants like
aldehyde-free biguanide and Chlorine dioxide or chlorhexidine
without any international guideline for common
practice. Cleaning with most of these disinfectants is
time consuming and needs at least 10 minutes for disinfection
(2). In some centers, anesthesiologists use disposable
blade laryngoscopes which brings, sometimes, difficulty
in airway management especially in the emergency
situations compared to standard laryngoscopes, because
of the shape of the blade or light carrying capacity. Most of
the single-use laryngoscopes tested were significantly inferior
to the standard Macintosh blade. This raises concern
over their use in clinical practice, particularly if intubation
is difficult (3). The cost of disposable blades for laryngoscopes
is almost 5 to 10 dollars.