LARYNGEAL MASK AIRWAY PLACEMENT: A COMPARISON BETWEEN PROPOFOL AND THIOPENTONE SODIUM IN THE DAY CASE SURGERY

BACKGROUND: Laryngeal Mask Airway (LMA) placement is now considered a common airway management practice. Although there are many studies which focus on various airway techniques, research regarding difficult LMA placement is limited, particularly for anesthesiologist trainees OBJECTIVE: To assess the effectiveness of Laryngeal Mask Airway (LMA) placement after induction with propofol or thiopentone in one hundred day case urological patients. METHODS: An analytical, non interventional, cross sectional comparative study. Patients were divided into Group A (Propofol Group n=50) received propofol (2.5mg/kg) and Group B (Thiopentone group n=50) received thiopentone sodium (4-6 mg/kg) IV. Management of anaesthesia was identical in both groups. Standard monitoring was including NIBP, pulse oxymetery and ECG was done. Co-induction with done with midazolam 0.1 mg/kg body weight. LMA was inserted after adequate level of anaesthesia and then assessed. The presence of gaging, coughing, laryngospasm and movement were noted , recorded by a colleague anaesthetist who entered the induction room during the two minutes assisted ventilation phase and was not aware of the type of induction agent. Statistical analysis was done by using SPSS version 10. The mean and standard deviation was calculated for age. Frequency of subjects was calculated for gender Lund and stovner assessment scheme. The p value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: Thiopentone was associated with an adverse response in 76% of patients, compared with propofol in 26% (p<0.01). Head movement, Laryngospasm, inadequate jaw relaxation were more common using thiopentone (p<0.05). The quality of anaesthesia according to patients was significantly higher in the propofol group (Group A, 80%) than in thiopentone group (Group B, 30%). CONCLUSION: Adverse responses in Group A were less than Group B. Propofol, therefore is superior to thiopentone as an induction agent for laryngeal mask airway.