• Etsuko Mizutamari, Toshiyuki Yano, Kazuo Ushijima, Asuka Ito, Sakiko Anraku, Hironari Tanimoto, and Hidenori Terasaki.
• Department of Anesthesiology and Surgical Center, Kumamoto University Hospital, 1-1-1 Honjo, 860-8556 Kumamoto, Japan.
• J Anesth. 2004 Jan 1;18(3):151-7.

PurposeWe compared the degree of postoperative sore throat (PST) after use of a laryngeal mask airway (LMA; by two insertion techniques) and a tracheal tube (TT) in adult patients.MethodsEighty-six adult patients undergoing surgery of an extremity were randomized into three groups. The LMAs (size 4 for men, 3 for women) and TTs were lubricated with 2% lidocaine gel. After the induction of anesthesia, an LMA with the cuff deflated was inserted and then the cuff was inflated in group A, an LMA with the cuff inflated was inserted in group B, and the trachea was intubated using vecuronium in group C; staff anesthesiologists performed all these methods. LMA cuffs were inflated with the maximum recommended volume of air. TT cuffs were inflated with the minimum volume of air without gas leakage at 20 cm H(2)O pressure. The mode of ventilation depended on the individual anesthesiologists. Blood traces on the devices were examined after their removal. PST was rated immediately after anesthesia and on the first postoperative day, using a three-point score and a 100-mm visual analog scale, respectively.ResultsMost of the patients receiving an LMA breathed spontaneously and those receiving a TT underwent controlled ventilation. The ratio of positive blood traces on devices, as well as the degree of PST immediately after anesthesia, was similar in the three groups; however, on the first postoperative day, the severity of PST was greater in the LMA groups than in the TT group ( P = 0.016). The severity of PST was similar with the two LMA insertion techniques.ConclusionIn the conditions of our study, LMAs inserted with the cuff either fully inflated or deflated worsened PST compared with TTs.

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