Petito S P, Russell W J
Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Australia.
Anaesth Intensive Care. 1988 May;16(2):139-43. doi: 10.1177/0310057X8801600202.
The ability of cricoid pressure to prevent inflation of the stomach during mask ventilation of a patient was studied. Fifty patients were randomly allocated to either have or not have cricoid pressure applied during a three-minute period of standardised mask ventilation. Patients who had had cricoid pressure applied had less gas in the stomach after mask ventilation (P less than 0.001). However, in a subgroup of patients considered difficult to ventilate, cricoid pressure seemed less successful in preventing gastric inflation. Cricoid pressure is a useful technique for reducing gastric inflation during mask ventilation, particularly in patients who are relatively easy to ventilate.
