Clinical Research Directory

Comparison of the Ambu AuraGain and Intersurgical i-Gel Laryngeal Masks in Elective Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy

Prospective, controlled, randomized study to compare Ambu AuraGain with Intersurgical i-Gel mask during mechanical ventilation in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The investigators hypothesise that when comparing the Ambu® AuraGainTM with Intersurgical i-GelTM mask, the Ambu® AuraGainTM would exhibit a higher oropharyngeal leak pressure (OLP) during mechanical ventilation in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The main goal is to compare the Ambu AuraGain with the i-Gel in terms of safety and efficacy during mechanical ventilation in critical phase of the pneumoperitoneum in lateral decubitus and reverse trendelemburg position. Secondary objectives are comparing insertion time, number of attempts, ventilatory airway peak pressure, time and success rates for gastric tube insertion and the incidence of side effects.

Pre-operative Characteristics for Prediction of Supraglottic Airway Failure Using Machine Learning (ERICA)

Supraglottic airway devices (SGA) are a safe and well-established technique for airway management. Nowadays, up to 60% of general anaesthetics performed in European countries use SGA. In 0.2-4.7% SGA fail and require conversion to tracheal tubes. The ERICA study will use artificial intelligence methods to develop a model that can predict the risk of an unplanned SGA conversion based on pre-operative characteristics available during the premedication visit.

IGEL Laryngeal Mask Airway Device Effectiveness in Irradiated Necks

It is known that patients with head and neck cancer who have had radiation therapy to the structures of the neck are at a greater risk of difficult mask ventilation and tracheal intubation than the majority of patients undergoing general anaesthesia. Failure to maintain oxygenation can lead to catastrophic consequences for any patient undergoing general anaesthesia, such as severe hypoxic brain injury and death. As such, the current guidelines from the Difficult Airway Society promote the use of a second generation laryngeal mask airway to maintain oxygenation in the event of failed mask ventilation or tracheal intubation, a rescue technique that has in most patient groups a very high chance of success. Unfortunately these guidelines are by necessity generic guidance and do not take into account the clinical performance of these devices in specific patient groups. While there is evidence of the effectiveness of the IGEL device as the primary method of airway maintenance in many studies there are none that describe its clinical performance in a group of patients in whom the rate of failed mask ventilation and tracheal intubation are significantly higher than the general population of patients. It is therefore of great interest to have an idea of the likelihood of success of rescue ventilation with this device in a group of high risk patients.