EASE OF INSERTION OF LARYNGEAL MASK AIRWAY BY CLASSIC AND I GEL SUPRAGLOTTICAIRWAY DEVICES- ACOMPARATIVESTUDY

BACKGROUND: Laryngeal mask airway is a supraglottic airway device with an inflatable cuffforming a low-pressure seal around the laryngeal inlet and permitting ventilation. Thei-gel is a novel supraglottic airway device made of thermoplastic elastomer which is soft,gel-like and transparent. Unlike conventional LMA, it does not have an inflatable cuff.The present study was undertaken to compare the performance oftwo supraglottic airway devices classic laryngeal mask airway and i-gel in anesthetized,paralyzed adult patients posted for elective surgeries under general anesthesia. METHODS : One hundred patients, scheduled for various elective surgical procedures undergeneralanesthesia belonging to ASA class I and II were included in the study and wererandomly divided into two groups with 50 patients in each group. In Group 1 (n=50), I gelsupraglottic airway device was used and Group 2 (n=50) classic laryngeal maskairway was used. Both the devices were compared concerning the ease of insertion, the number of insertion attempts, time of insertion, airway leak pressure, hemodynamic changes, intraoperative and postoperative complications. RESULTS : There was no statistically significant difference between the devices concerning ease of insertion and the number of attempts of insertion. The mean airway leak pressurewith igel was significantly higher as compared with c-LMA 26.38±2.76 and19.7±2.10 cm H2O, respectively. The mean time of insertion for i-gel was17.12±3.42 secs which was significantly shorter compared to c-LMA with a meaninsertion time of 25.62±5.28 secs. There were no statistically significantdifferences in hemodynamic changes and the postoperative complications between thedevices CONCLUSION : Both i-gel and c-LMA are easy to insert and provide an effective airway during positive pressure ventilation, with i-gel providing a better airway sealing pressure as compared to c-LMA