A comparison of the intubating and standard laryngeal mask airways for airway management by inexperienced personnel

Twenty-four inexperienced participants were timed inserting the intubating laryngeal mask airway and the laryngeal mask airway in 75 anaesthetised subjects. Adequacy of ventilation was assessed on a three-point scale. The pressure at which a leak first developed around the device's cuff was also measured. There was no significant difference in insertion time or the likelihood of achieving adequate ventilation between devices. However, the intubating laryngeal mask airway was better at providing adequate ventilation without audible leak (58/75 (77%) vs. 42/75 (56%); p = 0.009). The median (range [IQR]) pressure at which an audible leak developed was higher for the intubating laryngeal mask airway, 34.5 (14-40 [29-40]) cmH2O, than for the laryngeal mask airway, 27.5 (14-40 [22-33]) cmH2O (p < 0.001). The intubating laryngeal mask airway is worthy of further consideration as a tool for emergency airway management for inexperienced personnel.