title: An audit of the Single Use Portex Laryngeal Mask.
abstract: We performed an audit of the insertion of the Single Use Portex Laryngeal Mask in 400 patients. Insertion was successful at first attempt in 335 out of 400 patients (83.8%). However in 15 patients (3.8%), the Portex laryngeal mask could not be placed despite repeated attempts. In 12 of these 15 patients (80%), a standard Laryngeal Mask Airway (LMA) was successfully placed. After the completion of the audit, 22 out of 29 anaesthetists (75.9%), who had inserted > or = 5 Portex laryngeal masks, considered it inferior to the standard LMA. It would appear to us that the Portex laryngeal mask might need some design modifications to be a real alternative to the standard LMA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesia, Royal Hobart Hospital, Hobart, Tasmania.
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Orlikowski
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000769:Anesthesia, Inhalation / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004209:Disposable Equipment / Q000592:standards*; D004867:Equipment Design; D004869:Equipment Safety; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017214:Laryngeal Masks / Q000592:standards*; D008297:Male; D008485:Medical Audit; D008875:Middle Aged; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013648:Tasmania