Comparison between the Baska Mask® and I-Gel for Minor Surgical Procedures Under General Anaesthesia

Objective: Minor surgical procedures under general anaesthesia require a patent airway without the use of muscle relaxant.Supraglottic airway devices have been widely used for airway management.A study was undertaken to compare first-time insertion success rate, insertion time, sealing pressure and complications between the Baska ® mask and I-gel.Methods: After approval from the institutional ethical committee, a randomised single-blinded study was conducted on 50 American Society of Anesthesiologists' physical status I and II female patients aged 18-40 years who underwent minor surgical procedures under general anaesthesia.Patients were randomly categorized into two groups of 25 each; group Baska ® mask and group I-gel, and the first-time success rate, mean insertion time and sealing pressure were measured.The results were analysed using unpaired t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, Chi-square test and ANOVA.A p value <0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results:The first-time insertion success rate of the Baska ® mask was 21/24 (88%) when compared with the I-gel, which was 23/25 (92%) (p=0.585).The insertion time of the Baska ® mask was 14.9±6.2s, whereas that of the I-gel was 14.7±4.4s (p=0.877).The mean sealing pressure of the Baska ® mask was significantly higher when compared with the I-gel (28.9±3.5 vs. 25.9±2.5 cmH 2 O) (p=0.001). Conclusion:The Baska ® mask had a similar first-time insertion success rate and insertion time as the I-gel.The sealing pressure of the Baska ® mask was significantly greater than that of the I-gel.Both devices had complications that were comparable.