Light Camera Action: Redirecting Videolaryngoscopy
This is a re-post of a piece that was published on EMCrit
​George Kovacs and John Adam Law
These past couple of months will be remembered as significant for many reasons. (No, this is not an election commentary). To me (GK), this period was marked by three important headlines: Bob Dylan’s Nobel prize, Leonard Cohen’s death and Lewis et al.’s Cochrane review of videolaryngoscopy (VL) vs. direct laryngoscopy (DL).1 Dylan and Cohen both share a warm place in my heart and have touched generations with their brilliance.
The subject matter of the Cochrane Review evoked a very different warm sensation for me – rather more visceral. Much as I’d love to write a song and reach a wide audience, I’ve been told I have an awful voice and no talent. News of the Lewis publication soon appeared in the social media world and interestingly, comments claimed validation of both sides of the divide between VL and DL proponents. Hallelujah (rejoice), it’s been settled…or has it? To borrow line from Cohen’s song, “Your faith was strong but you needed proof”. My idea to try and write an editorial on the subject of VL vs. DL (again) kept me up for almost 48 hours while I was binge listening in celebrating Dylan and mourning Cohen. Had I been writing by hand, my garbage basket would have been overflowing with crumpled-up drafts. Apparently, it took Cohen 2 years to write ‘Hallelujah’ and while I am in no way trying to compare my task to his brilliance, that’s roughly the time required from idea to publication for most peer-reviewed submissions. We did feel it important to present our views (mine and those of Adam Law) in a more timely commentary as a ‘secondary literature’ submission (see Schriger’s editorial “Does everything need to be scientific?”) 2 we are grateful for this opportunity.
This is a re-post of a piece that was published on EMCrit