Double lumen tube placement with the Bullard laryngoscope

Purpose: Placement of double lumen tubes (DLTs) in both normal and difficul t airways may be considerably more difficult than Standard laryngoscopy and intubation using standard tracheal tubes, Alternative techniques to place DLTs have not been uniformly successful and alternative tracheal tubes do n ot provide the versatility afforded by the DLT: We intubated the tracheas o f patients undergoing thoracic procedures requiring DLTs with the Bullard l aryngoscope (BL) to determine its efficacy and outline its shortcomings. Methods: Twenty nine consecutive patients scheduled for general anesthesia requiring DLT were evaluated. The laryngeal view, time to intubation and th e reason for any difficulty with intubation were recorded. Any patient who required a second DLT placement had the second attempt performed via standa rd laryngoscopy Results: The time to laryngoscopy was 9 +/- 5 sec, and the time to intubati on was 28 +/- 10 sec. All patients had Cormack scores of grade of I through the BI, The placement of the bronchial lumen of the DLT was found to be in the correct location (left mainstem bronchus) in 9 of 28 patients. Conclusion: The BL appears to be effective in the placing DLT into the trac hea of patients.