A Prospective Double Blind Observational Study to Assess the Incidence and Risk Factors Associated With Endotracheal Intubation in Patients undergoing General Anaesthesia

Abstract

Background: To assess the incidence and risk factors of sore throat, cough and hoarseness in 180 patients undergoing general anaesthesia and endotracheal intubation. Postoperative sore throat is one of the common adverse events after general anaesthesia and has a reported incidence from 21 to 71%. Though it is not a life threatening complication, it is an important cause of postoperative morbidity and patient dissatisfaction during the hospital stay.

Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted on 180 patients ASA PS 1 and 2, in the age group of 18-65 years of both gender, undergoing general anaesthesia and endotracheal intubation. Preoperatively h/o smoking and tobacco chewing were recorded. Intraoperatively number of attempts of intubation, duration of laryngoscopy, presence of throat pack and ryle’s tube, position of head during surgery and duration of surgery were recorded. Post operatively complaints of sore throat, cough and hoarseness were recorded at 6hrs and 24 hrs using 4-point scale. Data were analysed with SPSS 22 version software, p value of <0.05 was considered as statistically significant after assuming all the rules of statistical tests.

Results: The incidence of sore throat was 30.6%, hoarseness was 4.4% and cough was 2.8% in our study in patients undergoing general anaesthesia and endotracheal intubation.

Conclusion: The incidence of sorethroat was 30.6%, hoarseness 4.4%, and cough 2.8% in our study. Tube lubrication, position of head extension with pillow under shoulder and presence of throat pack shows higher incidence of POST.