The Success Rate of Classic Laryngeal Mask Airway Insertion During General Anesthesia in Different Age Groups

Uncertainty about the effect of age on the success rate of laryngeal mask airway (LMA) insertion led us to conduct the present study to evaluate the success rate of LMA in airway management in different age groups.

A total of 183 patients, who were admitted to Shohada hospital (Tabriz, Iran) during 2018-2019, were enrolled in this descriptive, cross-sectional, prospective study. The patients were selected through the convenience sampling method and divided into 4 age groups. After anesthesia, patients were compared in terms of duration and number of LMA insertion attempts and LMA insertion complications. The data were analyzed using SPSS20 through one-way ANOVA and the Chi-square test at P<0.05).

There were significant statistical differences between different age groups regarding resistance against LMA insertion (P=0.008) so that insertion was most comfortable and easy in the first attempt in the adult group compared to other groups. However, no significant statistical difference was observed between different groups in terms of the rate of air leakage (P=0.129), the duration of successful LMA insertion (P=0.119), and the number of LMA insertion attempts (P=0.091). Regarding LMA insertion complications, laryngospasm was significantly higher in the middle-age and aged group (P=0.009), and blood observation on LMA was significantly higher in the pre-school and child group (P=0.005).

According to the results of this study, no difference was found between different groups in terms of successful LMA insertion and post LMA insertion complications.