Clinical evaluation of laryngeal mask airways in video-assisted thoracic surgery: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Endotracheal intubation is often associated with postoperative complications such as sore throat discomfort and hoarseness, reducing patient satisfaction and prolonging hospital stays. Laryngeal mask airway (LMA) plays a critical role in reducing airway complications related to endotracheal intubation. This meta-analysis was performed to determine the efficacy and safety of LMA in video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS).

The PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Medline and Web of Science databases were searched for eligible studies from inception until October 5, 2023. Cochrane’s tool (RoB 2) was used to evaluate the possibility biases of RCTs. We performed sensitivity analysis and subgroup analysis to assess the robustness of the results.

Seven articles were included in this meta-analysis. Compared with endotracheal intubation, there was no significant difference in the postoperative hospital stay (SMD = -0.47, 95% CI = -0.98–0.03, P = 0.06), intraoperative minimum SpO2 (SMD = 0.00, 95% CI = -0.49–0.49, P = 1.00), hypoxemia (RR = 1.00, 95% CI = 0.26–3.89, P = 1.00), intraoperative highest PetCO2 (SMD = 0.51, 95% CI = -0.12–1.15, P = 0.11), surgical field satisfaction (RR = 1.01, 95% CI = 0.98–1.03, P = 0.61), anesthesia time (SMD = -0.10, 95% CI = -0.30–0.10, P = 0.31), operation time (SMD = 0.06, 95% CI = -0.13–0.24, P = 0.55) and blood loss (SMD =- 0.13, 95% CI = -0.33–0.07, P = 0.21) in LMA group. However, LMA was associated with a lower incidence of throat discomfort (RR = 0.28, 95% CI = 0.17–0.48, P < 0.00001) and postoperative hoarseness (RR = 0.36, 95% CI = 0.16–0.81, P = 0.01), endotracheal intubation was found in connection with a longer postoperative awake time (SMD = -2.19, 95% CI = -3.49 – -0.89, P = 0.001).

Compared with endotracheal intubation, LMA can effectively reduce the incidence of throat discomfort and hoarseness post-VATS, and can accelerate the recovery from anesthesia. LMA appears to be an alternative to endotracheal intubation for some specific thoracic surgical procedures, and the efficacy and safety of LMA in VATS need to be further explored in the future.