Evaluation of Airway Anatomical Characteristics after Elective Surgery with Difficult Intubation

Over the years there has been a great deal of research conducted on recognition and prediction of the difficult intubation. The goal of this study was to assess the anatomical conditions of airway in patients with difficult intubation after elective surgery. In this cross–sectional prospective study, 51 patients who were undergoing elective surgery under general anesthesia were enrolled. After awareness of patients in recovery room, Mallampati score, thyromental distance, head and neck movements, distance between upper and lower teeth, mandibular translation and backward movements, teeth conditions, difficulty score were evaluated. In this study, %60.8 and %39.2 of patients were male and female respectively. Mean age and weight of patients were 41.86 ± 11.6 Y and 72.52 ± 15.93 kg respectively. The Body Mass Index was more than 25 in %54.9 of patients. The frequency of Mallampati class III and IV were %58.8 and %15.7. Neck extension degree, thyromental distance, distance between upper and lower teeth, and difficult intubation score were 43.23 ± 5 degree, 6.61 ± 1.98, 4.66 ± 0.88 and 5.91 ± 1.44 cm respectively. The frequency of normal upper teeth, normal jaw and normal mandible were %33.3, %62.7 and %82.3. This study showed that mallampati score, mandibular backward and upper teeth protrusion can predict difficult intubation better that other factors.