Postoperative Sore Throat after Endotracheal Intubation: Empirical Evidence of the Incidence and Risk Factors
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59644/oaphhar.4(2).280Keywords:
Airway Complicatons, Endotracheal Intubation, Endotracheal Tube (ETT), General Anesthesia, Perioperative Care, Postoperative Sore Throat (POST)Abstract
The present study aims to find the incidence, severity, and risk factors for sore throat after surgery performed under general anesthesia with endotracheal intubation. A cross-sectional study involving 214 patients aged≥ 10 years in a tertiary care hospital. Patients with a history of sore throat or upper respiratory infection and/or at high risk for difficult intubation were excluded. Normal anesthetic procedure employed. Demographic data, endotracheal tube (ETT) size, and duration of anesthesia were gathered as well as intubation-related factors. 13% of the patients had some post-symptoms, and most of them (86.9%) had none. Of affected patients, 5.1% had mild and 7.9% had moderate symptoms; none had severe symptoms. POST was most reported at the 4th postoperative hour. Although larger ETT sizes and longer anesthesia duration showed higher odds of POST, no statistically significant association was found with age, gender, BMI, ASA classification, or urgency of surgery (p > 0.05). POST incidence in this study was relatively low compared to existing literature, with most cases being mild and self-limiting. Effective airway management and adherence to standardized anesthetic techniques play a key role in reducing POST.
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