Airway management and supraglottic devices: which solution for which problem?

Since 1983, when Brain published his first preliminary report on the use of the laryngeal mask airway (LMA), supraglottic airway devices have become increasingly popular. They have been evaluated for both surgery and emergency airway management. In some institutions, they have replaced the use of endotracheal intubation for a large variety of procedures. This was a revolution because it was a new way to blindly control the airway. Every physician involved in anaesthesiology, critical care or emergency medicine was interested in these new tools. It took nearly 10 years before the use of these devices became routine practice. During this time, a large number of clinical studies have shown the real interest in their use in resuscitation but have also documented their limitations.