Muscle relaxant facilitates i-gel insertion by novice doctors: A prospective randomized controlled trial.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine whether muscle relaxants facilitates insertion efficacy of the i-gel supraglottic device (i-gel) by novice doctors in anesthetized patients. DESIGN: Randomized clinical trial. SETTING: Operating room. PATIENTS: Seventy adult patients scheduled for elective surgery under general anesthesia. INTERVENTIONS: Seventy adult patients were assigned to the rocuronium (MR group; 35 patients) or control group (C group; 35 patients). Anesthesia was induced with propofol and remifentanil, and 0.9mgkg(-1) rocuronium was administered in the MR group. MEASUREMENTS: The number of attempts to successful insertion, sealing pressure, and subjective difficulty of insertion were compared between the groups. MAIN RESULTS: The total number of insertion attempts were as follows: one (MR group, 17 cases; C group, 4 cases), two (MR group, 13 cases; C group, 14 cases), three (MR group, 4 cases; C group, 14 cases), and failure (MR group, 1 case; C group, 3 cases), which was significantly different (P<.001). Sealing pressure was significantly higher in the MR group than in the C group (MR group, 22.1±5.4 cmH2O; C group, 18.7±3.2 cmH2O, P<.001). Subjective difficulty of insertion was significantly lower in the MR group than in the C group (C group, 72.4±19.0mm; MR group, 29.4±18.3mm; P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our randomized clinical trial suggests that muscle relaxation facilitates i-gel insertion efficacy in anesthetized patients, as assessed by successful insertion rate, sealing pressure, and subjective difficulty of insertion.