Laryngeal tubes and laryngeal mask devices for supraglottic airway management in out-of-hospital emergency care: a systematic review.

Various supraglottic devices are currently available for airway management and are used widely in emergency situations because they are easy to position. We undertook a systematic review of the literature comparing laryngeal tubes and various laryngeal mask airway devices (LMAs) to determine which ones can be used most efficiently in emergencies. Nine databases were searched, as follows: Cochrane Library Plus, MEDLINE, CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature), Dialnet, Global Health, Nursing & Allied Health Database, CUIDEN, the Web of Science, and ScienceDirect. We collected studies published between 2014 and 2019 in Spanish, English, French, and Portuguese that compared laryngeal tubes to LMAs of different types for supraglottic airway management. Eighteen studies were selected for analysis after critical reading. Significant differences were not seen between tubes and LMAs with respect to most variables, but in certain contexts the oropharyngeal seal and speed of insertion were superior with laryngeal tubes; however, when fiberoptic bronchoscopes were then inserted the view of the glottis was poor. The different contexts in which these devices are used and the scarcity of studies comparing laryngeal tubes to LMAs does not allow us to identify clear differences among them with respect to efficiency. However, tubes seem to offer poorer visibility of the glottis according to evaluation with fiberoptic scopes, a factor to bear in mind if tracheal intubation, which is considered the gold standard, might become necessary.