Lesson 5 - Direct Laryngoscopy: MICU Fellows Airway Course

At last, we arrived! All of the preceding chapters served as necessary to this -- the thing we usually think of when we mention an airway course. This is the way we put the tube in most of the time, after all.
Preparation is everything -- get the patient in a good position, the sniffing position, to align all the different axes so you get the "straightest possible shot" into the trachea.
Now that you have them lined up, induce with those agents/relaxants that work out best for this particular patient. Mask (unless this is a rapid sequence induction), scissors the mouth open, place the larygoscope blade far to the right (to the right of the tongue), go deep into the mouth, then pull back until the epiglottis falls down into view. Then lift along the direction of the handle, that will keep you pulling away from the teeth and avoiding damage. Once you see the cords, gently place that endotracheal tube through the cords.