Indirect laryngoscopic assessment for the diagnosis of difficult intubation in patients undergoing microlaryngeal surgery.

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study is to investigate the feasibility of using indirect laryngoscopy for the diagnosis of difficult intubations in patients who are undergoing microlaryngeal surgery.

METHODS

In the pre-anesthetic examination the thyromental distance, sternomental distance, interincisor distance, neck circumference, modified Mallampati scores, and Wilson risk scores were measured. An otolaryngologist conducted an indirect laryngoscopic assessment. Direct laryngoscopic profiles were classified according to their Cormack-Lehane scores.

RESULTS

Forty patients underwent microlaryngeal surgery. Their mean ages, neck circumferences, Cormack-Lehane scores of the patients who had intubation difficulties were statistically significantly higher than those who did not have intubation difficulties (p < 0.05). The significant differences between the indirect laryngoscopic assessment distributions of patients who either had or did not have intubation difficulty were assessed (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Indirect laryngoscopic assessment is a simple and valuable technique that can be used for the diagnosis of difficult intubation in patients who are undergoing microlaryngeal surgery.