INTRAOCULAR-PRESSURE CHANGES FOLLOWING LARYNGEAL MASK AIRWAY INSERTION - A COMPARATIVE-STUDY

We compared the effects of the Brain laryngeal mask airway with a trac heal tube on intra-ocular pressure. Propofol was used as induction age nt and atracurium as relaxant. Twenty-six patients with normal intra-o cular pressure undergoing cataract surgery were randomly allocated to two groups. Group A (n = 13) had a laryngeal mask airway inserted and Group B (n = 13) had a tracheal tube inserted. Intra-ocular pressure w as measured just before insertion of the airway, 20 s after insertion and at 2 min. In the laryngeal mask airway group there were no signifi cant changes in mean intra-ocular pressure. In the tracheal tube group there was a significant rise in mean intra-ocular pressure at 20 s (p = 0.0056) which returned to pre-insertion levels at 2 min. We conclud e that the laryngeal mask airway continues to have advantages over the tracheal tube for ophthalmic surgery despite the use of propofol and atracurium as anaesthetic agents.