Supraglottic Airway Devices: A Knock of Future

Authors:

Anisha S* and Lalit G

Volume 3, Issue 1

Abstract

Supraglottic airway devices (SGAs) have become an important part of anesthesia management. They comprise of varied group of medical devices inserted through mouth for achieving oxygenation, ventilation as well as conduit for intubation in both elective and emergency situations. These have an advantage of being more definitive airway compared to facemask and less invasive than end tracheal intubation. The newer generation devices with improved safety features have almost replaced the golden era of endo tracheal tube in certain cases. Several SGAs have many distinctive features that are time tested in various difficult scenarios, which has led to an array of newer armamentarium in the kit of anesthetist for its selection in distress. This demands the knowledge of their specificities and since new devices are always being introduced, continuous learning is paramount. This review highlights the new era of supraglottic devices along with describing certain routinely used SGAs in clinical practice.

Keywords:

Supraglottic airway devices; Laryngeal mask; Airway management; ventilation; Respiratory failure

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