Comparison of Arndt-Endobronchial Blocker Set (AEBS) with Double-Lumens Endobronchial Tube (DLT) in One Lung Ventilation in Thoracic Surgery

One lung ventilation (OLV) for thoracic surgery is usually achieved with a double-lumen endobronchial tube (DLT) or bronchial blocker. However, nasal intubation is not easy in some cases. Here, we investigate the comparison between the use of Arndtendobronchial blocker set (AEBS) and DLT in OLV in thoracic surgery. A prospective, randomized, blinded controlled clinical trial was carried out on forty patients aged 44 to 74, with ASA I or II who scheduled for elective thoracic surgery. Patients were divided into AEBS and DLT group. Those in the AEBS group were inserted with Arndt-endobronchial blocker set while those in the DLT group were inserted with double-lumens endotracheal tube. Airway pressure, effective rate for lung collapse and surgical field exposure (Campos et al., method), incidence and severity (via numerical rating scale) of throat pain were measured. PaO2 in patients of the AEBS group was significantly lower than the DLT group (106 ± 52 vs. 155 ± 46) (P < 0.05) with SaPO2 within 97%-100%. The effective rate for lung collapse and surgical field exposure in the AEBS group was significantly higher than the DLT group (20/20 = 100% vs. 18/20 = 90%) (P < 0.05) while the incidence and severity of throat pain of patients in the AEBS group at 6, 12 and 24 h post-surgery were significantly lower than the DLT group (P < 0.05). Thus, Arndt-endobronchial blocker can be an effective alternative choice for OLV with effective lung collapse and surgical field exposure and less incidence and severity of throat pain