ABSTRACT
It is well accepted that intraocular pressure should be controlled during general anesthesia [G/A] for intraocular procedures. This study was performed to compare the effects of the laryngeal and tracheal tubes on intraocular pressure [IOP], mean arterial pressure [MAP] and heart rate [HR] during the course of G/A. Eighty adult patients were randomly allocated to two groups for cataract surgery. Group A [n=40] underwent laryngeal tube [LT] placement and group B [n=40] had tracheal tube [TT] insertion. Anesthesia was induced by midazolam, fentanyl, propofol and atracurium and was maintained by propofol and 50% nitrous oxide in oxygen. IOP, MAP and HR were measured before and 3 minutes after induction of G/A, 1 and 5 minutes after tube placement, at the end of the operation, and 1 minute after extubation. The IOP at 1 minute after removal of the tubes was significantly higher in the TT group than the LT group. The MAP at 1 minute and heart rate at 1 and 5 minutes after placement of the tubes were significantly higher in TT group than the LT group. In the course of G/A, using the same anesthetic agents such as propofol, and atracurium, LT had better control than TT on IOP, MAP and HR