i-gel® from Intersurgical: clinical evidence listing

Choudhary N, Kumar A, Kohli A, Wadhawan S, Bhadoria P. Indian J Anaesth. 2019 Mar;63(3):218-224

This investigation aimed to compare the successful intubation rate of the i-gel using three types of endotracheal tubes (ETTs). 75 ASA I and II patients (age 18-60 years) undergoing elective surgery under general anaesthesia were randomly assigned into three groups based on the type of endotracheal ETT, which included polyvinyl chloride ETT (Group P), intubating laryngeal mask airway ETT (Group I) and flexometallic ETT (Group F). Recorded parameters included time taken for successful intubation, success rate, number of attemps, manoeuvres, and complications. Results demonstrated that Group P had the lowest time and mean time for intubation, as well as the highest first attempt and overall intubation success rate. Therefore, the combination of polyvinyl chloride ETT with i-gel to intubate patients with difficult airways represents the most successful approach compared to other combinations. However, additional studies are needed to validate these results.

Link to abstract.

Naik L, Bhardwaj N, Sen IM, Sondekoppam RV. Anesthesiol Res Pract. 2016;2016:7318595

Study on 120 patients comparing intubation success through i-gel or ILMA. Overall success rate proved lower with i-gel in this scenario, with no differences in secondary outcomes.