The oropharyngeal leak pressure (OLP) of supraglottic airway devices (SGADs) is an important determinant of their efficacy to provide positive pressure ventilation, whereas the provision to prevent aspiration determines its safety. This study aims to compare the clinical performance of Laryngeal Mask Airway (LMA) Supreme versus BASKA Balum Mask.

Seventy adult patients (18–65 years) posted for elective surgeries general anaesthesia were prospectively randomised into group B (BASKA Mask) and Group S (LMA Supreme). The primary outcome was to measure the OLP at 5 and 30 min after device insertion and secondarily, to compare the ease and time of insertion, number of attempts, leak fraction, anatomical position of the devices, and adverse respiratory event if any.

The OLP of BASKA Mask was significantly higher than LMA Supreme (31.37 ± 1.73 cmH2O versus 23.6 ± 1.73 cmH2O at 5 min and 35.94 ± 3.84 cmH2O versus 23.71 ± 1.69 cmH2O at 30 min). The time taken to insert BASKA Mask was also less (11.49 ± 2.38 s) than LMA Supreme (14.66 ± 2.79 s). Peak airway pressures were also notably less in group B than group S at both 5 and 30 min after device placement (13.43 ± 1.44 vs 18.66 ± 1.43 cmH2O and 14.91 ± 1.46 vs 21.37 ± 1.88 cmH2O). The leak fraction ranged between 1.5 and 4.3% in both groups. All other parameters studied were also comparable.

BASKA Mask had a higher OLP, lower peak pressure, shorter time to insertion than LMA Supreme. The leak fraction, ease of insertion, number of attempts, and anatomical position of the devices were comparable in both groups.