Choice of comparators
In this study, three different modalities of laryngoscopy for endotracheal intubation will be compared (s. Fig. Examples of different laryngoscopes to be used in each of the three study arms (from left to right): conventional laryngoscope with Macintosh blade, video-assisted laryngoscope with Macintosh-shaped blade, video-assisted laryngoscope with hyper-angulated bladeAfter testing the non-inferiority of the experimental intervention (VAL as an overall procedure) compared with the control group, pairwise comparisons between the study arms will also be of interest. If this step of the hierarchical analysis plan can be reached, testing for superiority between groups will be possible. Furthermore, the question of whether the primary use of a hyper-angulated blade may be useful can be explored. In this scenario, for example, the hyper-angulated blade would not be inferior in the general setting, but would possibly make a second intubation attempt, or a change of the device used, unnecessary in the case of an unexpectedly difficult airway, since the “rescue device” has already been used to begin with.