Introduction: This prospective comparative trial was under­taken to compare the effects of insertion of laryngeal mask airway (LMA) and Endotracheal tube on heart rate response, evaluate the safety and efficacy of LMA as an airway device, and evaluate the changes in heart rate in pediatrics patients undergoing elective surgeries under general anaesthesia. Material and Methods: 60 cases which met all the inclusion criteria were selected and the study was carried out on patients of ASA I and II, aged 2 ­ 14 years of either sex, weighing 3­45kg undergoing elective surgery GroupL: LMA for airway management Group­E: Endotracheal Tube (ETT) for airway management. Results: Both ETT and LMA cause increase in heart rate (HR), but the magnitude and duration of response is less in LMA. The heart rate response to LMA insertion has reached the basal values in 3 minutes where as in endotracheal group it was still higher even in 5 minutes. Mean difference in the heart rate at different intervals with that of basal values showed significant results. Conclusion: Heart response is less and short lived with LMA as compared to endotracheal intubation. Therefore LMA is a suitable alternative to endotracheal intubation for elective surgical procedures in paediatric patients.

Keywords: Heart Rate Response; Laryngeal Mask Airway; Endotracheal Intubation; Children.