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[Sniffing Position and i-gel Rotation Approach for i-gel Insertion under General Anesthesia]
Background:
Insertion assistance techniques, such as the sniffing position (SP) and i-gel? rotation approach (RA), are recommended in the i-gel supraglottic airway device insertion manual. The usefulness of these techniques was evaluated, in this study, under general anesthesia.
Methods:
In 50 adult patients, the i-gel was inserted with the patient in the mild-SP with 5 degrees head extention at first attempt. When resistance was encountered during insertion or airway patency was not obtained after insertion, the i-gel was re-inserted with the patient in the full-SP with maximum head extention during second attempt. When re-insertion failed, the i-gel was inserted with the patient in the full-SP and by using the i-gel RA during third attempt.
Results:
Airway patency was established in the mild-SP in 36 of 50 patients, in the full-SP in 11 of the remaining 14, and in the full-SP with the i-gel RA in the remaining 3. The average insertion time was 24.0 s during the first attempt, 22.2 s during the second, and 18.2 s during the third. No major complications were observed.
Conclusions:
Both the full-SP and the i-gel RA can be used for i-gel insertion.
