Purpose: To compare the incidence of airway complications in children less than one year of age whose airways were maintained during anesthesia with either a laryngeal mask airway (LMA) or a facemask and oral airway (FM-OA).
Methods: We randomized 49 - ASA class 1&2 - infants to an LMA or FM-OA group. All infants were undergoing minor general, urological or orthopedic procedures. Anesthesia was induced and maintained with halothane in nitrous oxide 50% and oxygen. The airway was removed in both groups when the infant was awake. The occurrence of airway complications (breath-holding, coughing, laryngospasm, secretions, obstruction and oxygen saturation < 95%) at induction of anesthesia, intraoperatively and during emergence from anesthesia was recorded.
Results: Airway complications occurred perioperaively in 15 of 27 infants in the LMA group and in 5 of 22 infants in the FM-OA group (P: 0.02).
Conclusion: In infants, the use of the LMA is associated with an increased incidence of airway complications compared with the use of the FM-OA.