i-gel – News & Events

This case report, published in Paediatric Anesthesia, highlighted the case of a 10 year old child, weighing 30kg, scheduled for an elective pyeloplasty. A size 3 i-gel was inserted and secured after confirming correct placement and a suction catheter inserted down the gastric channel. The child was positioned prone and the correct positioning of i-gel reconfirmed by appropraite CO2 wave form, absence of audible leak and chest auscultation. At the end of the procedure, the child was returned to a supine position and i-gel removed after reversal. The patient recovered without any complications.

Reference:
Link to abstract
 Successful use of the i-gel airway in prone position surgery.
Senthil Kumar M, Pandey R, Khanna P. Paediatric Anaesthesia. 2009 Feb; 19(2): 176-7.

This interesting paper, published in Resuscitation, compared i-gel to another supraglottic airway in a manikin cardiac arrest scenario. The study evaluated the effect use of these devices had on No-flow time (NFT). The authors stated that ‘an ideal supraglotic airway should be inserted rapidly with minimal training and it should enable controlled ventilation’. i-gel met these criteria during resuscitation in a manikin and NFT was kept as low as possible, consistent with ERC guidelines.

Reference
Link to abstract
Influence of airway management strategy on ‘no-flow-time’ in a standardized single rescuer manikin scenario (a comparison between LTS-D and i-gel: Wiese CHR, Bahr J, Popov AF, Hinz JM, Graf BM. Resuscitation 80 (2009) 100-103.

A study recently published in Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica, evaluated i-gel in 50 children above 30kg undergoing short-duration surgery. The parameters measured included; ease of insertion, seal pressure, ease of inserting a gastric tube and post operative complications. The first time insertion success rate was 100%. No laryngeal leak occurred. The mean seal pressure was 24.9cm H₂0. The authors concluded that i-gel was very easy to insert and that ‘no learning curve is needed before a high success insertion rate is obtained’. ‘The i-gel appears to be safe for paediatric management.

Reference:
Link to abstract
The i-gel, a single-use supraglottic airway device with a non-inflatable cuff and an esophageal vent: An observational study in children: Beylacq L, Bordes M, Semjen F, Cros AM. Acta Anaesthesiol Scand 2009; 53: 376-379