Comparison of I-gel for general anesthesia in obese and nonobese patients

I-gel is a second-generation supraglottic airway device. Despite several studies on i-gel, there are very few studies on the use of i-gel in obese patients.

The aim of the study was to compare the clinical performance of i-gel between obese and nonobese patients.

Prospective, controlled, nonrandomized, hospital-based study.

After obtaining informed consent, patients were divided into two groups of 16 patients each: group O consisted of patients with body mass index (BMI) >30 kg/m² and Group C consisted of patients with BMI 18.5-29.9 kg/m². I-gel was inserted after induction of anesthesia and muscle relaxation. Oropharyngeal leak pressure (OLP) (primary outcome variable), leak fraction, time taken to insert the device, ease of insertion, fiberoptic view of glottis through i-gel's airway tube, and adverse effects were recorded.

Data were analyzed using SPSS 20. Continuous, ordinal, and categorical variables were analyzed using students t-test, Mann-Whitney U-test, and Fischer's exact test, respectively.

OLP was slightly higher in Group O (25.38 ± 4.79 cm H₂O) but was not statistically different than Group C (27.38 ± 4.38 cm H₂O). Other parameters except weight and BMI (which were higher in Group O) were statistically similar in both groups. There was no statistical difference in side effects.

We concluded that i-gel is as effective in obese patients as in nonobese patients when used for securing the airway for surgical procedures.