LMA Unique Has Low Failure Rate in Elective Use

But many patients in whom the Laryngeal Mask Airway Unique fails suffer adverse respiratory events and require admission.

No large studies have examined the causes and complications of failure of the single-use Laryngeal Mask Airway Unique (uLMA). Researchers reviewed anesthesia records for 15,795 elective general surgery patients who received the uLMA at a single center in Michigan between 2006 and 2009. The primary outcome was uLMA failure necessitating removal and tracheal intubation; secondary outcomes included difficult bag mask ventilation (defined as unsuccessful or requiring two operators) and unplanned hospital admission.

The uLMA failed in 1% of patients and was related to airway leak in 42% of cases. Of patients with uLMA failure, 62% experienced adverse respiratory events (hypoxia, hypercapnia, or airway obstruction). In multivariate analysis, indep…

Reviewing Authors

Cheryl Lynn Horton, MD

Disclosures

Speaker’s bureauAirway Management Education Center

Cheryl Lynn Horton, MD

Disclosures

Speaker’s bureauAirway Management Education Center

Ron M. Walls, MD, FRCPC, FAAEM

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Speaker's bureauAirway Management Education Center, LLC

EquityAirway Management Education Center, LLC

Grant / Research supportAgency for Health Care Research and Quality

Editorial boardsManual of Emergency Airway Management; Rosen's Emergency Medicine; UpToDate; Scientific American Medicine

Leadership positions in professional societiesAssociation of Academic Chairs in Emergency Medicine (President)

Ron M. Walls, MD, FRCPC, FAAEM

Disclosures

Speaker's bureauAirway Management Education Center, LLC

EquityAirway Management Education Center, LLC

Grant / Research supportAgency for Health Care Research and Quality

Editorial boardsManual of Emergency Airway Management; Rosen's Emergency Medicine; UpToDate; Scientific American Medicine

Leadership positions in professional societiesAssociation of Academic Chairs in Emergency Medicine (President)