[Usefulness of the intubating laryngeal mask airway for cases with predicted difficult intubation]

We evaluated the usefulness of the intubating laryngeal mask airway (ILMA) in patients who were predicted to have possible difficult airway. Patients with possible difficult airway were defined as those with limited head extension, Mallampati's classification of grade IV, thyro-mental distance < 4 cm, or Cormack grade III-IV on the laryngoscopy. The control group was consisted of the patients without these conditions or impaired mouth opening. Insertion of the ILMA was successfully performed in all patients of both groups. In the group of possible difficult airway, 83% of patients were intubated through the ILMA successfully, and in the control group, 86%. We conclude that the ILMA may become an additional tool in patients with difficult intubation.