Endotracheal intubation in patients undergoing open abdominal surgery in the lateral position: a comparison between the intubating video stylet and fiberoptic intubating bronchoscopy.

Background: Some situations compel anesthetists to execute endotracheal intubation in the lateral position. We compared elective endotracheal intubation in the lateral decubitus position using the video stylet (VS) device with the fiberoptic (FO) bronchoscope device in patients undergoing abdominal surgery.

Methods: Overall, 50 patients were enrolled in this prospective, randomized study.