The LMA Supreme™ – a pilot study
Authors
van Zundert A.
Publication
Anaesthesia 2008; 63 (2): 209–210
Summary
- A study to determine the performance of the LMA Supreme™ in anaesthetised patients
- The insertion of the LMA Supreme™ was considered ‘easy’ on the first attempt in all patients
- The LMA Supreme™ appears to combine many of the best features of other supraglottic airway devices, including the LMA ProSeal™, LMA Fastrach™ and LMA Unique™ devices, within a single device
Objectives:
- To determine the performance of the LMA Supreme™ in anaesthetised patients
Method:
- This was a prospective pilot study undertaken in American Society of Anesthesiologists class 1 or 2 patients aged 18-60 years
- Outcomes of interest were
- Ease of insertion (i.e. number of insertion attempts and time taken to secure an effective airway)
- Oropharyngeal leak pressure
- Anatomical position (determined by fibreoptic inspection via the distal end of the airway tube)
- Intra-cuff pressure change
- Airway trauma and morbidity
Results:
- Overall, 22 patients were included in the study
- The mean age and body weight of included patients (18 of whom were female) was 38 years and 73 kg, respectively
- The LMA Supreme™ was successfully inserted in all of the study participants, with insertion being considered ‘easy’ on the first attempt in all instances (Figure 1)
- The mean time to secure an effective airway (from picking up the device to the first breath) was 28 seconds
- The mean oropharyngeal leak pressure was 37 cm H2O; this was likely the result of an increase in intra-cuff pressure (mean 24 cm H2O)
- Oropharyngeal leak pressure increased during anaesthesia (Figure 2)
Figure 1. Ease of insertion of the LMA Supreme™ on the first attempt (n=22)
Figure 2. Oropharyngeal leak pressure during the course of anaesthesia (data are shown as mean ± standard deviation)
- The vocal cords were visible from the distal end of the airway tube in all patients
- Insertion of the gastric tube was successful on the first attempt in all patients
- No blood was observed on the LMA Supreme™ following its removal and no lip, tongue or mouth trauma was evident
- At 2 hours post-surgery there were no reports of a sore throat, dysphagia or dysphonia
Conclusions:
- The LMA Supreme™ appears to combine many of the best features of other supraglottic airway devices, including the LMA ProSeal™, LMA Fastrach™ and LMA Unique™ devices