Incidence of Postoperative Sore Throat and Associated Factors Among Pediatric Patients Undergoing Surgery Under General Anesthesia at Hawassa University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, a Prospective Cohort Study

Prevalence and factors associated with postoperative sore throat in Ethiopia: A systemic review and meta-analysis, 2023

Background

Postoperative sore throat (POST) remains a stressful impact of postoperative airway management, and it contributes to mortality and morbidity after general anesthesia. Its pooled prevalence and determinants in Ethiopia have not been fully studied. This study intended to assess the pooled prevalence and risk variables for POST in Ethiopia.

Methods

A systematic review and Meta-analysis were performed as per the recommendation of PRISMA. To evaluate the pooled prevalence and factors significantly associated with POST in Ethiopia, electronic databases were searched till November 30/2023 and publications were chosen based on inclusion criteria. To assess the quality of the included studies, the Joanna Briggs Institute criteria was used. STATAMP 17 software was used for all data analysis.

Results

Databases were searched for possible research using Medical Subject headings or entries or key phrases. Only 12 articles were included in the final analysis after screening by titles, abstracts, and full text based on the qualifying criteria. The pooled prevalence of POST in Ethiopia is 47.3 %. The determinants of POST in Ethiopia were female sex, repeated attempts at intubation, blood visible on the tip of an endotracheal tube or laryngoscope, prolonged duration of intubation, and using endotracheal intubation over laryngeal mask airway.

Conclusion

In Ethiopia, the overall prevalence of postoperative sore throat is substantial. Prolonged intubation for more than 2 h, using ETT over LMA, Sex being female multiple attempts at intubation, and blood seen on the tip of ETT or Laryngoscope were the determinant factors of POST in Ethiopia.

Intracuff Lidocaine and Postoperative Throat Mucosal Injuries: An Evidence-based Review

PURPOSE

Examine the effectiveness of using intracuff lidocaine to minimize postoperative complications.

DESIGN

Systematic review.

METHODS

This review was conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Guidelines. PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane, Google Scholar, and gray literature databases were searched to obtain eligible studies and minimize selection bias. The Johns Hopkins Nursing Evidence-Based Practice Model was used to appraise the level of evidence for the varying studies. Only randomized controlled trials (RCT) and systematic reviews with meta-analyses of RCTs were included in the review.

FINDINGS

Three RCTs and three systematic reviews with meta-analyses incorporating a total of 2,337 patients were included in this review. Intracuff lidocaine (alkalinized and nonalkalinized) had the lowest incidence of postoperative sore throat in the early and late postoperative periods compared to intracuff air or intracuff saline. Furthermore, the evidence suggested that the use of intracuff lidocaine reduced postextubation cough and the incidence of hoarseness but had little or no effect on dysphagia. All studies were Level 1 and Grade A, indicating clinically solid evidence in analyzing intracuff lidocaine's effect on all outcomes measured.

CONCLUSIONS

The current literature suggests the feasibility of using intracuff lidocaine as an effective method to reduce the incidence of postoperative sore throat, postextubation cough, and hoarseness. The implications to practice include improving the norm of postoperative throat mucosal injuries by implementing an evidence-based practice intervention of intracuff lidocaine.

Leveraging artificial intelligence to identify high-risk patients for postoperative sore throat: An observational study

Postoperative sore throat (POST) is a prevalent complication after general anesthesia and targeting high-risk patients helps in its prevention. This study developed and validated a machine learning model to predict POST. A total number of 834 patients who underwent general anesthesia with endotracheal intubation were included in this study. Data from a cohort of 685 patients was used for model development and validation, while a cohort of 149 patients served for external validation. The prediction performance of random forest (RF), neural network (NN), and extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) models was compared using comprehensive performance metrics. The Local Interpretable Model-Agnostic Explanations (LIME) methods elucidated the best-performing model. POST incidences across training, validation, and testing cohorts were 41.7%, 38.4%, and 36.2%, respectively. Five predictors were age, sex, endotracheal tube cuff pressure, endotracheal tube insertion depth, and the time interval between extubation and the first drinking of water after extubation. After incorporating these variables, the NN model demonstrated superior generalization capabilities in predicting POST when compared to the XGBoost and RF models in external validation, achieving an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of 0.81 (95% CI 0.74-0.89) and a precision-recall curve (AUPRC) of 0.77 (95% CI 0.66-0.86). The model also showed good calibration and clinical usage values. The NN model outperforms the XGBoost and RF models in predicting POST, with potential applications in the healthcare industry for reducing the incidence of this common postoperative complication.

Comparison of preformed microcuff and preformed uncuffed endotracheal tubes in pediatric cleft palate surgery-A randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Airway management in children with oral cleft surgery carries unique challenges, concerning the proximity of the surgical site and the tracheal tube. We hypothesized that using a Microcuff oral RAE tube would reduce tube exchange and migration rate. We aimed to compare the performance of Microsoft and uncuffed oral performed tracheal tubes in children undergoing cleft palate surgeries regarding the rate of tracheal tube exchange, endobronchial intubation, and ventilatory parameters.

METHODS

One hundred children scheduled for cleft palate surgery were randomized into two groups. In the uncuffed group (n = 50), the tracheal tube was selected using the Modified Coles formula, and in the Microcuff (n = 50) group, the manufacturer's recommendations were followed. Intraoperatively, we compared the primary outcome of tube exchange using the chi-square test. The leak pressure and ventilatory parameters after head extension and mouth gag application were measured in both groups.

RESULTS

The tracheal tube exchange rate was significantly lower in the Microcuff group (0/50) than in uncuffed (19/50) preformed tubes (0 vs. 38% respectively; p <.001). The uncuffed and Microcuff tracheal tube were comparable concerning ventilation parameters and leak pressure of finally placed tubes (17.78 ± 3.95 vs. 19.26 ± 3.81 cm H2 O respectively, with a mean difference (95% CI) of -1.48 (-0.01-2.98); p-value =0.059. Cuff pressure did not vary significantly during the initial hour, and the incidence of postoperative airway morbidity between uncuffed and Microcuff tube was comparable, 5/50 (10%) versus 7/50 (14%) with risk ratio (95% CI) of 0.71(0.24-2.1), p value .49.

CONCLUSION

Microcuff oral preformed tubes performed better than uncuffed tubes regarding tube exchange during cleft palate surgery.

A randomised, double-blind, comparative study of preoperative magnesium sulphate versus zinc sulphate gargle for prevention of postoperative sore throat following endotracheal intubation

Background and Aims

Magnesium sulphate and zinc sulphate have been reported to attenuate postoperative sore throat (POST). The study aims to compare the effect of preoperative magnesium sulphate and zinc sulphate gargle on the incidence and severity of POST following endotracheal intubation within 24 h.

Methods

After ethics committee approval, 132 patients were randomly allocated to three groups (M, Z and D). Fifteen minutes before laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation, patients assigned to groups M and Z received a solution for gargle containing magnesium sulphate 20 mg/kg and zinc sulphate containing 40 mg of elemental zinc dissolved in 20 ml of 5% dextrose solution, respectively. Group D received 20 ml of 5% dextrose solution. Incidence and severity of POST (4-point score: Grade 0- no sore throat, Grade 1- mild sore throat, Grade 2- moderate sore throat, Grade 3- severe sore throat) was assessed for 24 h after extubation. Statistica, Version 8.0 (StatSoft, Inc., Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA) was used for analysing the data.

Results

The lowest incidence of POST in group M was 13.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 3.5-23.7) compared to 0% in group Z, whereas the highest incidence recorded in group M was 25% (95% CI 12.2-37.7) in contrast to 13.6% (95% CI 3.5-23.7) in group Z during the first 24 h after operation. It was observed that the incidence of mild POST (POST score 1) was significantly lower (P < 0.05) in group Z compared to group M in the first 4 h postoperatively.

Conclusion

Zinc sulphate gargle before laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation is more effective for reducing the incidence of POST than magnesium sulphate gargle.