Pentax Airway Scope® vs Macintosh laryngoscope for tracheal intubation in adult patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis

The Pentax Airway Scope (R) is a single-use optical videolaryngoscope designed to assist with difficult tracheal intubation. We systematically reviewed the efficacy of the Pentax Airway Scope with that of a conventional laryngoscope for tracheal intubation in adults with 'normal' and 'difficult' airways. We included 17 randomised controlled trials with a total of 1801 participants. We used the DerSimonian and Laird random-effects model to calculate pooled relative risk or weighted mean differences. The relative risk (95% CI) of a Cormack-Lehane grade-1 laryngeal view was 2.40 (1.76-2.49) with the Pentax Airway Scope compared with the Macintosh laryngoscope, p < 0.00001. We found no other differences between the two laryngoscopes. Despite a superior laryngeal view, the Pentax Airway Scope provides little clinical benefit over the conventional laryngoscope.