Background and objective: We conducted a study investigating the effectiveness of four face mask designs in the bag-mask ventilation of a special manikin adapted to simulate a difficult airway.
Methods: Forty-eight anaesthetists volunteered to bag-mask ventilate the manikin for 3 min with four different face masks. The primary outcome of the study was to calculate mean percentage leak from the face masks over 3 min. Anaesthetists were also asked to rate the face masks using a visual analogue score.
Results: The single-use scented intersurgical face mask had the lowest mean leak (20%). This was significantly lower than the mean leak from the single-use, cushioned 7,000 series Air Safety Ltd. face mask (24%) and the reusable silicone Laerdal face mask (27%) but not significantly lower than the mean leak from the reusable anatomical intersurgical face mask (23%).
Conclusions: There was a large variation in both performance and satisfaction between anaesthetists with each design. This highlights the importance of having a variety of face masks available for emergency use.