Sore throat incidence with the laryngeal mask: A comparison with orotracheal intubation

The incidence of sore throat was evaluated among 80 healthy (ASA 1 and 2) nonpremedicated adult patients undergoing general anesthesia for general, plastic, urologic, gynecologic, and orthopedic surgery. The patients were randomly allocated in two groups: group one (n=39) consisted of patients in whom the airway was maintained by a laryngeal mask, and in group 2 (n=40), orotracheal intubation was performed. Both groups were similar in age, gender, site of surgery, and time of airway cannulation. Intraperitoneal surgery of the upper abdomen, and insertion of a nasogastric tube were exclusion criteria. The severity of sore throat was graded by the patients themselves using a visual analogue 100 mm scale, varying from 0 (no sore throat) to 10 (extremely sore). The sore throat incidence, severity and duration were significantly lower in the laryngeal mask group in comparison with the endotracheal intubation group.