COMPARISON OF THE USE OF THE LARYNGEAL MASK AND FACE MASK BY INEXPERIENCED PERSONNEL

Ten junior doctors with no postgraduate anaesthetic experienceattempted to ventilate the lungs of 50 anaesthetized patients,using either a laryngeal mask or a Guedel airway and face mask.Success was defined as the production of two successive tidalvolumes exceeding 800 ml within 40 s. The failure rate was significantlygreater using the laryngeal mask compared with the face mask(P < 0.05) and the average time was significantly longerwith the laryngeal mask than with the face mask (P < 0.01). The results from this investigation suggest the laryngealmask airway cannot be recommended as a resuscitation devicefor use by inexperienced operators.