[Continuous cuff pressure measurement during laryngeal mask anesthesia : An obligatory measure to avoid postoperative...

Inflation of laryngeal masks is often performed only with regard to the clinical impression and without any objective measurement of cuff pressure. As a result the use of laryngeal masks frequently leads to postoperative complications, such as sore throat, dysphonia, dysphagia and nerve palsy. In this study the influence of continuous measurement of cuff pressure on the incidence of postoperative sore throat was investigated in patients who underwent laryngeal mask anesthesia.

In the context of a retrospective audit all patients who underwent laryngeal mask anesthesia were asked to complete a questionnaire on anesthesia. The primary endpoint of the study was the postoperative occurrence of a sore throat. For analysis the patients were divided into two groups. In the first group the cuff pressure was controlled only by clinical means and in the second group the cuff pressure was controlled using continuous manometry. The study covered a 10-month period of observation for each group.

During the observation period laryngeal mask anesthesia was performed in 4169 patients. Of these 917 patients (manometry group n = 433 and control group n = 484) voluntarily completed the questionnaire. In the group without cuff pressure measurement 36 % of patients complained of sore throat postoperatively but only 12 % of the patients in the group with cuff pressure measurement (p < 0.001). Postoperative nausea and vomiting occurred in 16 % of the patients and 13 % complained of severe pain in the area of the operation. No differences between the two groups were found. While 97 % of patients in the group with continuous measurement of cuff pressure were satisfied with the anesthesia, this applied to only 79 % of patients in the control group (p = 0.006).

In terms of the results of this study and with respect to data from the literature, measurement of cuff pressure should be compulsory during laryngeal mask anesthesia.