Evaluation of Airway Anatomical Characteristics after Elective Surgery with Difficult Intubation

Background: 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.
Materials and Methods: 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.
Results: 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.
Conclusion: This study showed that mallampati score, mandibular backward and upper teeth
protrusion can predict difficult intubation better that other factors.