I-Gel and ILMA for ease of insertion and as conduit for intubation- A comparative study

Abstract

Background: Supraglottic airway devices (SAD/SGAD) are efficient in the management of anticipated and unanticipated difficulties in the airway. I-GEL, a novel supraglottic airway device with soft and non-inflatable cuff. Intubating laryngeal mask airway (ILMA) can also be used as conduit for endotracheal intubation. This study designed to assess the ease of insertion of I-GEL and ILMA and as conduit for blind endotracheal intubation. Materials and methods: A total 120 cases undergoing elective surgery requiring general anaesthesia between age group 20-60 years were recruited. Cases were induced with suitable induction agents and non-depolarizing muscle relaxants and ventilated for 3 minutes before SAD insertion and again ventilated for 1 minute before blind ETT intubation. Parameters such as ease of insertion, number of attempts and time period of insertion of SADs and ETT, post-operative clinical complications were assessed. Results:In group 1, 78.3% cases had 2 attempts for SAD insertion, whereas in group 2, 60% cases had only one attempt for SAD insertion. Cases in group 1 had more attempts for SAD insertion than group 2 which was statistically significant (p< 0.002). In group 1, 56.6% cases had 11-15 seconds for SGAD insertion, whereas in group 2, 63.3% cases had less than 5 seconds for SGAD insertion. In group 1, 81.6% cases had one attempt for ETT insertion followed by 10% cases had two attempts. Whereas in group 2, 83.3% cases had two attempts to insert ETT followed by 10% cases had two attempts. Conclusion: I-GEL is better device for emergency rescue ventilation because of its ease of insertion and less incidence of post-operative complications. ILMA is a better conduit for blind ETT than I-GEL.