Randomized Controlled Trial to Compare Baska® Mask versus ProSeal Laryngeal Mask Airway for General Anesthesia with...

A myriad of supraglottic airway devices (SADs) are developed over time to search the device that conforms to the anatomy of the human respiratory tract noninvasively, but these devices are associated with the risk of aspiration. Baska^® mask (BM) is the latest addition to the family of SADs to circumvent the incidence of aspiration.

The aim of the study was to compare the sealing pressure and rapidity of the insertion of BM with ProSeal laryngeal mask (PLM) airway and the incidence of laryngopharyngeal morbidity between two devices.

A randomized prospective open-label study was done on sixty adult patients of the age group of 18-60 years after approval from the institutional ethical committee and registration of trial in the Clinical Trials Registry. The patients were randomly divided into two groups: Group I (BM) where BM was inserted after the induction of general anesthesia and Group II (PLM) where PLM was inserted after induction. The airway sealing pressure in BM was calculated. The mean time of insertion of respective SAD and the number of successful attempts were also recorded in both groups. For analysis of continuous variables, independent sample Student's t-test was applied, and for categorical variables, Chi-square test was used. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

The rate of successful attempts of insertion was comparable in both the groups. The mean insertion time was 14.25 ± 3.82 s in BM group and 22.01 ± 2.64 s in PLM group, which was statistically significant. The airway sealing pressure was 30.25 ± 3.34 cmH₂O in BM group and 23.50 ± 4.05 cmH₂O in PLM group, which was also statistically significant.

BM has better ease of insertion with adequate sealing pressure as compared to PLM airway, thus reducing the chances of aspiration and offering its potential application in securing airway in emergency situations.