Abstract
Objective: To compare the efficacy of propofol with sevoflurane for Laryngeal mask airway (LMA) insertion during elective surgeries.
Methodology: This study was conducted in the Department of Anesthesiology, Holy Family Hospital Rawalpindi from 5 October 2011 to 5 April 2012. Three hundred and eighteen patients fulfilling the inclusion criteria were selected in the study by non-probability consecutive sampling after taking informed written consent. Patients between the ages of 20 to 40 years were included, belonging to ASA class I and II, requiring General anesthesia with LMA for different surgical procedures. They were divided into two equal groups by computer generated random numbers. Group A comprised of 159 patients in whom intravenous propofol was given for induction of anesthesia and LMA insertion. Group B comprised of 159 patients in whom inhalational induction with sevoflurane was done for LMA insertion. Conduct of anesthesia was maintained similar in both groups. Cough and gag reflexes were observed in both groups at the time of LMA insertion. Drug under study was said to be effective, if it was associated with no cough and gag reflex during LMA insertion.
Results: It was observed that 6.3% patients of group A (propofol) had positive cough reflex as compared to 13.2% patients of group B (sevoflurane). The difference was statistically significant (p=0.038). The gag reflex in group A was 8.2% and group B was 14.5%, however, the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.077).
Conclusion: Propofol was more effective than sevoflurane for smooth LMA insertion during elective surgeries.

Key words: Laryngeal mask airway insertion, sevoflurane, propofol, cough reflex, gag reflex.