Effectiveness of Supraglottic Airways Management Among Paramedics

Aim: The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of supraglottic airways management by paramedics using selected methods in simulated conditions. Material and methods: The study included a group of 115 professionally active paramedics working in various health care facilities in the Podkarpackie Province. Each subject was asked to open the airways using a laryngeal mask airway (LMA) and a disposable laryngeal tube (LT-D) in simulated conditions. The study assessed the effectiveness of the airway opening taking into account: average tidal volume of a single breath in ml, average minute tidal volume in ml, time of insertion in seconds, the need for a second attempt, pressure on incisors in N. The obtained results were statistically analysed, p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. The calculations were performed with the SPSS 20 software. results: The study showed that the time of inserting of LT-D is the same as the time of LMA (LT-D: 25.95s ± 7.89s vs. LMA: 24.78s ± 8.32s; p>0.05). The mean tidal volume of a single breath was significantly higher with the LMA com-pared to LT-D (LMA 633.24 ml vs. LT-D 579.68 ml, p<0.05). During LMA insertion, the pressure on incisors of 11.41N ± 6.22N was used, while in case of LT-D this pressure amounted to 13.15N ± 3.68N. Every fourth examined paramedic had problems with correct insertion of LT-D tube in accordance with the adopted algorithm. Conclusions: The supralottic LMA and LT-D tools seem to be an effective and safe alternative of the airway management in case of life emergency