Cormack-Lehane grading evolution to assess trainee’s progress in laryngoscopy

Cormack and Lehane1 proposed in 1983 a grading system for the view obtained in laryngoscopy, aimed at beginners to facilitate airway training. Although patients’ anatomical characteristics greatly influence glottic visibility, technique and applied force, in which training has a great impact, contribute laryngoscopy success.2 The first author, a trainee in intensive care medicine, recently began training in laryngoscopy and endotracheal intubation at our hospital’s anaesthesia department. The Cormack and Lehane (CL) grade was recorded immediately after every laryngoscopy he performed on adult patients, using only Macintosh blades (sizes 3–4), during 5 months. The trainee also performed laryngoscopies with McCoy blades and videolaryngoscopes, which …