Comparison of clinical performance of Ambu® AuraGain™ and BlockBuster® in anaesthetised preschool children-A randomised controlled trial

Background and Aims: Supraglottic airway (SGA) devices are a boon to paediatric airway management. The clinical performances of the BlockBuster (R) laryngeal mask airway (LMA) and Ambu (R) AuraGain (TM) in preschool children were compared in this study. Methods: After ethical approval and trial registration, this randomised controlled study was conducted on 50 children, aged 1-4 years, randomised into two groups. Appropriate sized Ambu (R) AuraGain (TM) (group A) and LMA BlockBuster (R) (group B) were placed as per the manufacturer's recommendation under general anaesthesia. Appropriate size of the endotracheal tube was then chosen and inserted through the device. Primary objective of the study was to compare the oropharyngeal seal pressure (OSP), and secondary objectives were the first attempt intubation success rate, overall intubation success rate, SGA insertion time, intubation time, haemodynamic changes and postoperative pharyngolaryngeal complications. The Chi-square test was used to analyse the categorical variables, while the intragroup comparison of mean changes in outcomes was evaluated by the unpaired t-test. The level of significance was set at P < 0.05. Results: Demographic parameters were uniformly distributed in both the groups. The mean OSP in group A was 26.6 +/- 0.95 cm H2O and in group B was 29.08 +/- 0.75 cm H2O. Both the devices were successfully inserted in all the patients. The success rate of blind endotracheal intubation through the device in first attempt was 4% in group A and 80% in group B. Postoperative pharyngolaryngeal complications were relatively less in group B. Conclusion: LMA BlockBuster (R) provides higher OSP and provides a higher success rate of blind endotracheal intubation in paediatric patients.