Effects of laryngeal mask ventilation on postoperative atelectasis in children undergoing day surgery: a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: To compare the effects of laryngeal mask mechanical ventilation and preserved spontaneous breathing on postoperative atelectasis in children undergoing day surgery. METHODS: Children aged 3–7 who underwent elective day surgery were randomly divided into a spontaneous breathing group (n = 23) and a mechanical ventilation group (n = 23). All children enrolled in this trial used the same anesthesia induction protocol, the incidence and severity of atelectasis before induction and after operation were collected. In addition, the baseline data, intraoperative vital signs, ventilator parameters and whether there were complications such as reflux and aspiration were also collected. SPSS was used to calculate whether there was a statistical difference between these indicators. RESULTS: The incidence of atelectasis in the spontaneous breathing group was 91.30%, and 39.13% in the mechanical ventilation group, and the difference was statistically significant (P = 0.001). There was a statistically significant difference in carbon dioxide (P < 0.05), and the severity of postoperative atelectasis in the mechanical ventilation group was lower than that in the spontaneous breathing group (P < 0.05). In addition, there were no significant differences in the vital signs and baseline data of the patients (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Laryngeal mask mechanical ventilation can reduce the incidence and severity of postoperative atelectasis in children undergoing day surgery, and we didn’t encounter any complications such as reflux and aspiration in children during the perioperative period, so mechanical ventilation was recommended to be used for airway management. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The clinical trial was registered retrospectively at the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry. (https://www.chictr.org.cn. Registration number ChiCTR2300071396, Weiwei Cai, 15 May 2023).