An observational study of the Baska ® mask: a novel supraglottic airway *

The Baska mask is a novel supraglottic airway device. We conducted an initial observational study to assess this device in 30 low-risk female patients. All Baska masks were inserted by a single investigator. The overall success rate for device insertion was 96.7% (95% CI 82.8-99.9%), while the success rate for the first insertion attempt was 76.7% (95% CI 57.7-90.1%). The device was easy to insert, with a mean (SD) difficulty score of 0.9 (1.6) on a 10-cm scale. The mean (SD) airway leak pressure was 35.7 (13.3) cmH(2) O. The incidence of throat pain, dysphonia and dysphagia was low. We conclude that the Baska mask demonstrates a level of utility as an alternative supraglottic airway that is worthy of further clinical study.