ABSTRACT
The cuffed oro-pharyngeal airway [COPA], a modified Guedel airway, was compared with laryngeal mask airway [LMA] during spontaneous breathing anesthesia. Parameters of comparison were ease of use, physiological tolerance, hemodynamics and the frequency of clinical problems. We studied 50 adult patients, ASA grade I and II undergoing short surgical procedures. The patients were randomly allocated into two groups of 25 each, group I [COPA] and group II [LMA] were pre-medicated with intravenous glycopyrrolate, intravenous midazolam and pentazocine for sedation. Intravenous propofol was the inducing agent, and the patients was maintained using oxygen, nitrous oxide and sevoflurane. The insertion time, number of attempts, ease of insertion, airway manipulations, hands free anesthesia, hemodynamic parameters, complications and overall efficacy with the use of either device were compared. In group I, in 92% of cases insertion was easy and successful in the first attempt, in group II, it was 80%. Less time required in group I versus group II but more airway manipulations were needed in group I in order to achieve unobstructed airway, hence not very good for hand free anesthesia. Hemodynamic parameters were comparable in the two groups Complication rate was less and the overall assessment for COPA was graded as good. Thus, the cuffed oropharyngeal airway is comparable to laryngeal mask airway but it is not better as far as hand free anesthesia is concerned