Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Orebro University Hospital, Orebro, Sweden.
Acta Anaesthesiol Scand. 2010 Feb;54(2):147-53. doi: 10.1111/j.1399-6576.2009.02166.x. Epub 2009 Nov 23.
Sore throat following endotracheal intubation is a common problem following surgery and one of the factors that affects the quality of recovery. This study was carried out with the primary aim of assessing whether the size of the endotracheal tube (ETT) affects the risk of sore throat in women following anaesthesia.
One hundred healthy adult women undergoing elective surgery were randomly allocated to oral intubation with either ETT size 6.0 or 7.0. Anaesthesia was based on either inhalation or total intravenous anaesthesia according to standardized routines. Pre- and post-operatively, sore throat and discomfort were assessed on a four-graded scale and for hoarseness on a binary scale (yes or no). Post-operatively, the assessments were performed after 1-2 and 24 h, and if there was discomfort at 24 h, a follow-up call was made at 72 and 96 h.
After 1-2 h post-operatively, there were a higher proportion of patients with sore throat in ETT 7.0 vs. ETT 6.0 (51.1% vs. 27.1%), P=0.006. This difference between the groups was also evident, P=0.002, when comparing changes between the pre- and the post-operative values. The severity of discomfort from sore throat was also higher in ETT 7.0 (38.8%) compared with ETT 6.0 (18.8%), P=0.02. No differences were found in the incidence of hoarseness between the groups. The remaining symptoms lasted up to 96 h post-operatively in 11%, irrespective of the tube size.
Use of a smaller-sized ETT can alleviate sore throat and discomfort in women at the post-anaesthesia care unit.
气管插管后咽痛是手术后常见的问题之一，也是影响康复质量的因素之一。本研究的主要目的是评估女性麻醉后气管导管（ETT）的大小是否会影响咽痛的风险。
100 名择期手术的健康成年女性随机分为经口插管 ETT 6.0 或 7.0 。根据标准化程序，麻醉采用吸入或全静脉麻醉。在术前、术后，采用四级评分评估咽痛和不适程度，采用二项评分（是或否）评估声音嘶哑程度。术后 1-2 小时和 24 小时后进行评估，如果在 24 小时后仍有不适，在 72 小时和 96 小时进行随访。
术后 1-2 小时，7.0ETT 组咽痛患者比例高于 6.0ETT 组（51.1%比 27.1%，P=0.006）。两组间的差异也很明显（P=0.002），比较术前和术后值的变化时。7.0ETT 组的咽痛严重程度也高于 6.0ETT 组（38.8%比 18.8%，P=0.02）。两组间声音嘶哑的发生率无差异。术后 96 小时内，11%的患者仍有其余症状，与管腔大小无关。
在麻醉后护理单元，使用较小尺寸的 ETT 可减轻女性的咽痛和不适。
