Brief review: The LMA Supreme™ supraglottic airway

This article is a review of the efficacy and safety of the Laryngeal Mask Airway (LMA) Supreme™ as a stand-alone supraglottic airway during general anesthesia and as a conduit for tracheal intubation. Relevant articles were obtained using MEDLINE (1948-July 2011) and EMBASE (1980-July 2011). Only original studies with adult human patients and published in English were selected.

The LMA Supreme was found to be comparable with the LMA Proseal™ with regard to success rate, insertion time, and complications. However, in three studies, oropharyngeal leak pressure was higher with the LMA Proseal than with the LMA Supreme. The LMA Supreme was superior to the LMA Classic™ with regard to insertion time and oropharyngeal seal pressure. The LMA Supreme was also used successfully in two difficult airway cases, and it has been used as a conduit for tracheal intubation by utilizing an intubation introducer (gum elastic bougie) and subsequently railroading an endotracheal tube over the bougie into the trachea. Techniques for achieving tracheal intubation include the use of the Aintree Intubation Catheter®, a guidewire-exchange catheter, a gum elastic bougie, and a small (<6.0 mm internal diameter) endotracheal tube.

The LMA Supreme has been shown to be a safe and efficacious device as a stand-alone supraglottic airway and may also be used as a conduit for tracheal intubation. Further trials are needed to determine the efficacy of the LMA Supreme compared with other supraglottic airways in both elective and emergent airway management situations.