Haemodynamic response to fibreoptic versus laryngoscopic nasotracheal intubation under total intravenous anaesthesia.

Thirty ASA physical status I and II patients scheduled for elective maxillofacial surgery received total intravenous anaesthesia with propofol, fentanyl and atracurium and were randomly allocated to undergo either fibreoptic or orthodox nasotracheal intubation. Haemodynamic responses to intubation were similar for both techniques. The peak values for heart rate and blood pressure after induction were not significantly different from the baseline values for each group. There was no significant difference in the time required to complete intubation. SpO2 and end-tidal CO2 were similar for both techniques.