Annals of Anesthesiology and Critical Care

Abstract

Background: Postoperative sore throat, cough, nausea, apnea, and laryngospasm are common complications of intubation by
endotracheal tube (ETT) in pediatrics. The laryngeal mask airway (LMA) is a supraglottic device used as an alternative equipment
for ETT in order to decrease the complications.
Objectives: To compare the incidence of postoperative sore throat after LMA with ETT in pediatrics.
Methods: Seventy-six patients between the ages of 2 - 12 with ASA class I-II who underwent cochlear implant surgery were enrolled
and randomly divided into 2 groups including ETT or LMA for airway management. The incidence of complications including sore
throat, apnea, vomiting, laryngospasm, post operative cough, intra, and post operative arrhythmia and the influence of these equipment’s
on O2 saturation, end tidal CO2, airway pressure, and hemodynamic changes during operation were compared. Wong-Baker
facial grimace scale was used to evaluate the severity of pain.
Results: The rate of postoperative sore throat and laryngospasm in the ETT group was significantly higher than the LMA group (P =
0.002, 0.011; respectively). Apnea and vomiting were not significantly different. Rate of postoperative cough, incidence of intra, and
postoperative arrhythmia were not significantly different between the two groups. Mean arterial pressure, peak airway pressure,
end tidal CO2, and oxygen saturation during operation, which was measured continuously, had no significant differences between
the two groups.
Conclusions: LMA significantly decreases the rate of postoperative sore throat and laryngospasm in pediatrics. However, the rates
of apnea, oxygen saturation, and nausea were similar in both groups. Application of LMA as an alternative to ETT is appropriate in
pediatric patients.