[Correlation between obstructive apnea syndrome and difficult airway in ENT surgery]

Area of Science:

• Otolaryngology
• Anesthesiology
• Sleep Medicine

Background:

• Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) increases difficult airway and perioperative complication risks in ENT patients.
• The STOP Bang questionnaire is a simple tool for preoperative OSAS risk assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate if the STOP Bang questionnaire predicts difficult airways and complications in ENT surgery patients with OSAS.
• To assess the correlation between anatomical parameters, OSAS, and difficult airways.

Main Methods:

• 48 ENT surgery patients with prior polysomnography were studied.
• Anatomical parameters for difficult airway and STOP Bang questionnaire scores were recorded.

Main Results:

• 18.7% of patients had a difficult airway, all with OSAS. These patients were older, had larger neck circumference, and higher ASA/Cormack scores.
• OSAS patients exhibited higher BMI, neck circumference, and apnea frequency.
• Severe OSAS patients had significantly higher STOP Bang scores than mild/moderate OSAS or non-OSAS patients.

Conclusions:

• The STOP Bang questionnaire identified severe OSAS but not difficult airways or mild OSAS.
• Cormack III/IV and BMI > 35 kg/m² predicted difficult airways and OSAS, respectively.
• While all difficult airways occurred in moderate/severe OSAS patients, OSAS did not always lead to difficult airways.