Randomised Controlled Trial of Stylet Shape in Simulated Endotracheal Intubation by Medical Students

Endotracheal intubation (ETI) is a lifesaving procedure. It involves placing a tube in the patient's airway to maintain ventilation and oxygenation.

Simulation has been shown to be effective for medical procedural skills training. Medical simulation literature now focuses on instructional design (ID) features that improve learning.

There are multiple aspects of ETI technique and ID that can be modified to improve successful ETI. Patient positioning, mastery learning, and dyad rather than solo practice are examples for which evidence exists to guide instructors. Despite this, ETI complication rates are substantial.

Thus, areas for continued improvement in ETI ID should be explored. One area is the optimal endotracheal tube (ETT) shape, achieved using a stylet, for novices learning ETI, for which there is limited evidence.

The straight to cuff (STC) shape has been postulated to optimise views of the airway compared to an arcuate shape. These shapes have only been directly compared as subgroups among multiple other comparisons in ETI technique in difficult intubations in one study. This does not generalise well to educating novices such as medical students, where intubations at normal difficulty are within the learner's zone of proximal development, and findings from subgroup comparisons are hypothesis generating rather than definitive evidence