New Report Highlights the Potential Benefits of Second-Generation Supraglottic Airways

The 4th National Audit Project of the UK Royal College of Anaesthetists and the Difficult Airway Society, ‘Major complications of airway management in the UK’, is already being seen as a seminal report.

The findings provide an ideal opportunity for the review and revision of airway strategy at a local and national UK level, yet the data it contains is likely to have a broader appeal, since many of the themes and issues discussed have international relevance.

In Chapter 11, the report highlights the potential design advantages of second-generation supraglottic airways and includes specific recommendations related to their use. This includes the recommendation that ‘…all hospitals have second-generation SADs available for both routine use and rescue airway management’.¹

The i-gel is a second-generation supraglottic airway with a gastric channel² to provide an early warning of regurgitation, an integral bite block to reduce the possibility of airway occlusion and a buccal cavity stabilizer to aid easy insertion and eliminate the potential for rotation.

With its unique, soft, non-inflatable cuff, valuable time is not wasted deflating and inflating a cuff. This allows a patent airway to be established in the quickest possible time. In many cases, insertion can be achieved in less than five seconds.³

With NAP4 highlighting the potential benefits of second-generation supraglottic airways, if you haven’t yet had the opportunity to evaluate i-gel, why not contact us for a sample to try.

References

¹ 4th National Audit Project of The Royal College of Anaesthetists and the Difficult Airway Society. Major complications of airway management in the UK. Report and findings. March 2011.
² Except size 1
³ Bamgbade OA, Macnab WR, Khalaf WM: Evaluation of the i-gel airway in 300 patients. Eur J Anaesthesiol. 2008 Oct;25(10):865-6.