Comparison of ventilation effectiveness of the bag valve mask and the LMA Air-Q SP in nurses during simulated CPR.

Unlabelled: In a case of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) in a health facility there is a procedure to summon a resuscitation team. Nurses are obliged to begin cardiopulmonary resuscitation with chest compressions and implement ventilation using the bag valve mask of 30:2 compressionventilation ratio. Nurses are not allowed to implement methods of advanced airway management. However, the laryngeal mask airway (LMA) was designed for people inexperienced in intubation who would be able to provide advanced airway management quickly and effectively after a short training. It is advisable to check how nurses, who in case of SCA are often the first responders, deal with advanced airway management.

Aim: The aim of the study was to evaluate the quality of ventilation using the bag valve mask and the LMA Air-Q SP by professionally active nurses.

Materials And Methods: The study was conducted on a 38-person group of professionally active nurses working or affiliated with the District Health Care Facility in Piotrków Trybunalski. After a short pre-training lecture the nurses were assigned to ventilate the manikin with the bag valve mask (BVM) using 30:2 compressionventilation ratio and then asynchronously with the use of the LMA Air-Q SP.

Results: The average time elapsed from the beginning of CPR to the onset of ventilation was 18 ± 5,4 s. as for the BVM and 16,15 ± 4,4 s regarding the LMA. Minute ventilation achieved with the BVM was 3,47 ± 1,43 l / min, and in case of the LMA it amounted 5,54 ± 1,73 l / min. There was no case of gastric insufflation in case of the LMA, while as for the BVM it occurred in five cases. There are very few studies focused on the LMA Air-Q SP, but some research (Jagannathan, Alexandera or Gruber) devoted to the use of the LMA in nurses, demonstrate that ventilation with the use of the LMA is effective and ensure more appropriate ventilation parameters than with the use of the BVM.

Conclusions: The nurses achieved better ventilation results when using the LMA. Attempts to insert the LMA were shorter than in case of the BVM.