Considering that any patient who is admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) might be infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), we present a video of tracheal intubation performed in an operating room, using two different devices for laryngoscopy (video). As recommended by airway management societies worldwide, we used a rapid sequence induction, and face mask ventilation was avoided. In part 1 of the video, the use of standard Macintosh laryngoscope for tracheal intubation places the face of the intubator very close to the patient, which puts the intubator at high risk of contamination from airway secretions. In part 2 of the video, the use of a videolaryngoscope allows the intubator to be further away from the patient and is therefore at reduced risk of exposure to airway secretions and contamination. The use of a single-use blade might also reduce the risk of patient-to-provider transmission compared with use of a reusable blade.

Videolaryngoscopy is an important tool in anticipated and unanticipated difficult intubation. Videolaryngoscopes are designed to improve visualisation of the glottis, aiming to decrease the time to successful intubation, increase first attempt intubation success rate, increase overall intubation success rate, reduce applied force, and reduce intubation-related complications.

After wide implementation of videolaryngoscopy in operating rooms, the rate of difficult and failed intubations by skilled providers have declined significantly. For critically ill patients, the use of videolaryngoscopes is more recent than in operating rooms; however, their effectiveness in increasing first attempt success and reducing difficult intubation or complications related to intubation remains controversial. However, after appropriate training and education, videolaryngoscopes can also be of great help for an experienced operator in both non-difficult and difficult intubation procedures in the ICU setting. This reduction of difficult intubation could thereby reduce patient-to-provider transmission of infectious disease and SARS-CoV-2 infection.

New respiratory viruses are emerging each year; to minimise the spread of disease, preventive measures should be taken for each tracheal intubation performed, such as the use of videolaryngoscopes, which allow indirect visualisation of the glottis.