Comparison between the Baska Mask^® and I-Gel for Minor Surgical Procedures Under General Anaesthesia

Minor surgical procedures under general anaesthesia require a patent airway without the use of muscle relaxant. Supraglottic airway devices have been widely used for airway management. A study was undertaken to compare first-time insertion success rate, insertion time, sealing pressure and complications between the Baska^® mask and I-gel.

After approval from the institutional ethical committee, a randomised single-blinded study was conducted on 50 American Society of Anesthesiologists' physical status I and II female patients aged 18-40 years who underwent minor surgical procedures under general anaesthesia. Patients were randomly categorized into two groups of 25 each; group Baska^® mask and group I-gel, and the first-time success rate, mean insertion time and sealing pressure were measured. The results were analysed using unpaired t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, Chi-square test and ANOVA. A p value <0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.

The first-time insertion success rate of the Baska^® mask was 21/24 (88%) when compared with the I-gel, which was 23/25 (92%) (p=0.585). The insertion time of the Baska^® mask was 14.9±6.2 s, whereas that of the I-gel was 14.7±4.4 s (p=0.877). The mean sealing pressure of the Baska^® mask was significantly higher when compared with the I-gel (28.9±3.5 vs. 25.9±2.5 cmH₂O) (p=0.001).

The Baska^® mask had a similar first-time insertion success rate and insertion time as the I-gel. The sealing pressure of the Baska^® mask was significantly greater than that of the I-gel. Both devices had complications that were comparable.