VOLUME 10 , ISSUE 1--4 ( January-December, 2024 ) > List of Articles
Prakruthi D Reddy, Priyanka Suresh, MC Narendra Babu, Sushma Parameshaiah
Keywords : Ease of insertion, General anesthesia, Head and neck surgery, Nasopharyngeal intubation, Surgical satisfaction
DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10045-00287
License: CC BY-NC 4.0
Published Online: 30-08-2024
Copyright Statement: Copyright © 2024; The Author(s).
Background: Nasotracheal intubation is the most common method of airway management in head and neck surgery patients. This study was undertaken to compare the ease of intubation, trauma during intubation, and better access to the surgical field using different types of endotracheal tubes (ETT) for intubation using a nasopharyngeal airway (NPA) in patients undergoing head and neck surgeries. Materials and methods: A prospective study was conducted in the Department of Anesthesiology of a tertiary care hospital in Bengaluru. About 90 patients undergoing head and neck surgeries, selected by simple random sampling, were divided equally into three groups. The patients were subjected to routine investigations and studied for ease of intubation, bleeding, and surgeon's satisfaction. Results: The study groups were comparable with respect to demographic characteristics, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) grade, side of the nostril, and size of the ETT chosen. The ease of insertion was higher in Ring Adair-Elwyn (RAE) tube cases when compared with flexometallic and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) tubes (p < 0.05). Bleeding was slightly higher in RAE and PVC groups than the flexometallic group (p < 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the vital parameters between the three groups. Complications including kinking were seen in the flexometallic tube group, and displacement, refixation, bronchospasm, and postoperative cough were seen in the RAE group when compared to the other two groups. The surgeon comfort zone and surgical area clearance were significantly higher in the flexometallic group and RAE group than the PVC tube group. Conclusion: The ease of insertion of the tube was significantly better in the RAE tube group than in the flexometallic and PVC tube groups. The rate of complications, including bleeding, was also higher in the RAE group.