Use of i-Gel Supraglottic Airway in a Simulated Cardiac Arrest Resuscitation During Boat Rescue Transport by Los Angeles County Fire Lifeguard Division: A Proof-of-Concept Study.

OBJECTIVE: The Los Angeles County Fire Department Lifeguard Division responds to water rescues and medical and dive emergencies across 72 miles of Southern California coastline and Catalina Island. Limited advanced life support resources make cardiac arrest resuscitations logistically challenging during transport to shore or the hyperbaric chamber. This proof-of-concept study looked to determine if an i-Gel (Intersurgical Complete Respiratory Systems, Wokingham, Berkshire, UK) supraglottic airway device would either become dislodged or compromise ventilations during prolonged resuscitation at high speeds over open water with an ongoing automatic chest compression device (ACCD).

METHODS: A simulated resuscitation was performed on the Los Angeles County Lifeguard rescue boat while underway at speeds up to 25 knots. A LUCAS ACCD (Jolife AB, Ideon Science Park, Lund, Sweden) and a size 3 i-Gel were used. The volume of ventilations and depth of compressions were continuously monitored using the AmbuMan Advanced manikin (Ambu, Ballerup, Denmark).

RESULTS: The i-Gel supraglottic airway device delivered appropriate ventilations measuring between 300 and 400 mL/breath when delivered on the upstroke of compression. The i-Gel did not dislodge during transport.

CONCLUSION: The i-Gel supraglottic airway device appears to provide adequate ventilations without dislodgment during ongoing compressions with an ACCD during high-speed water transport.