The lack of airway protection with the standard laryngeal mask airway (LMA) has limited its utility as a rescue device in the ED or EMS . . .
The lack of airway protection with the standard laryngeal mask airway (LMA) has limited its utility as a rescue device in the ED or EMS setting. Because it facilitates intubation, the intubating LMA (I-LMA) may solve this problem. To compare the adequacy of ventilation and speed of insertion of the I-LMA and the LMA, these authors timed insertion of the devices by 24 surgeons without anesthesia experience.
After minimal training (2 successful mannequin insertions), the participants placed the I-LMA and LMA, in random order, in 75 patients undergoing elective surgery. Median time from picking up the device to the start of ventilation was similar, at 23 seconds with the I-LMA (range, 9-120 seconds) and 24 with the LMA (range, 11-120 seconds; P…