J Postgrad Med
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Laryngeal mask airway vs endotracheal tube to facilitate bedside percutaneous tracheostomy in critically ill patients: a prospective comparative study.
Inadvertent puncture of endotracheal tube (ETT) cuff and accidental tracheal extubation are the potential life threatening complications during percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy (PDT). As an alternative to ETT, the laryngeal mask airway (LMA) has been used sporadically but no large study is available on its use. ⋯ The LMA does not provide safe patent airway to facilitate bedside PDT in critically sick population on controlled ventilation. The ETT is safer for controlled ventilation and should be continued to secure the airway for this purpose until a better alternative is available.