Intubation in the Lateral Position: Tube or LMA?

Certain emergency circumstances, such as entrapment or impalement with a weapon, require that intubation be conducted with the patient in the lateral position, but little is known about how this position affects airway anatomy or intubation success. To evaluate lateral intubation and the role of the laryngeal mask airway (LMA) in such cases, investigators randomized 69 patients (American Society of Anesthesiologists class 1) undergoing elective general anesthesia who did not have predicted difficult airways to undergo airway management in the lateral position with either oral endotracheal intubation or an LMA.

After induction of anesthesia, each patient's laryngoscopic view was graded by direct laryngoscopy, with and without cricoid pressure…