A recent trial found single-use, video monitor-assisted flexible laryngoscopes to have comparable image quality to standard reusable flexible laryngoscopes during inpatient consults. 

It was the video monitor, however, that made the real impact for patients. 

Survey reponses during the trial suggested an improved patient experience with the disposable options compared with reusable, because the monitor allowed patients to better see and understand procedures.

Dr. Andrew J. Bowen, a resident at the Mayo Clinic Department of Otorhinolaryngology in Rochester, Minnesota, presented a poster at the 2021 virtual Combined Otolaryngology Spring Meetings detailing the trial’s interim results.

Residents used the single-use Ambu aScope 4 RhinoLaryngo Slim along with the aView monitor during the 12-week trial period.

Bowen said residents reported a preference for the disposable video monitor-assisted flexible laryngoscopes in “all evaluated aspects of care,” compared with standard reusable scopes. Their preferences included improved ease of use and image quality.

Patients surveyed during the trial found the video monitor that accompanied Ambu’s flexible laryngoscopes helped improve their understanding of the illness and the rationale for treatment recommendations.

The research was designed to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of disposable video monitor-assisted flexible laryngoscopes compared with standard reusable flexible scopes during inpatient consults. Cost, sterilization techniques, and the COVID-19 pandemic were some of the issues leading to the research.