Which breathing tube method is safer for head and neck cancer patients?
NCT ID NCT03757091
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tested two devices that help doctors place a breathing tube before surgery in 143 head and neck cancer patients with difficult airways. One device is a flexible scope, and the other combines that scope with a video laryngoscope. The goal was to see which method reduces complications like pain or mouth injury. Results will help anesthesiologists choose the safest approach.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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143 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Jan 2019
- Finished
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Feb 2026
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Ages ≥ 18 years of age * All surgical patients with known or suspected difficult airways that meet at least three (3) of the Difficult Airway criteria \[Mallampati III-IV, Neck circumference \> 40 cm, Sternomental distance \< 12 cm, Thyromental distance \< 6 cm, Mouth opening \< 4 cm, BMI ≥ 35 kg/m2, Upper Lip Bite Test - ULBT (class III)\] or history of radiation to the head and neck area or oral pathology obstructing the glottic view * American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) I-IV * Has provided written informed consent Exclusion Criteria: * Active bleeding from nasopharynx or oropharynx * Trismus * Oral pathology obstructing the glottic view * Planned awake or nasal intubation * Neuromuscular Blockade (NMB) contraindicated post-induction * Emergency endotracheal intubation and patients intubated pre and post-surgery * Surgical procedures such as Tracheostomy, Laryngectomy, Esophagectomy * Patient refusal or inability to consent for study participation * American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) V * Pregnant females
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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M D Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, Texas, 77030, United States
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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