Efficacy of ultrasound for placement of laryngeal mask airway in adult patients: a comparison with fiberoptic bronchoscopy / 中华麻醉学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of ultrasound for placement of laryngeal mask airway (LMA) in comparison with fiberoptic bronchoscope in adult patients.Methods Fifty-eight ASA physical status Ⅰ or Ⅱ patients,aged 18-57 yr,weighing 50-70 kg,with body mass index 20-30 kg/m2,scheduled for gynecological operation under general anesthesia,underwent standard general anesthetic technique with 4 # LMA-ClassicTM.After clinical assessment of correct placement of LMA,the position of the LMA was confirmed by transverse neck ultrasound,and reconfirmed using fiberoptic bronchoscopy.The peak airway pressure and oropharyngeal leak pressure were recorded.Results When the outcome of clinical assessment of correct placement of LMA was considered as satisfactory,the rate of ideal anatomic placement assessed by ultrasound evaluation was 69 %,and the rate of ideal anatomic placement assessed by fiberoptic bronchoscopy was 59 %,and it showed that there was no significant difference in detecting the ideal placement of the LMA (P ＞ 0.05).The oropharyngeal leak pressure was significantly higher when ultrasound was used for confirmation of the correct placement of LMA than that when fiberoptic bronchoscope was used (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion Ultrasound provides better efficacy for placement of LMA in indicating sealing of LMA than fiberoptic bronchoscope and is helpful in improving ventilation conditions in adult patients.