Does intubation while observing the glottis with a fiberoptic scope reduce postoperative sore throat?

Area of Science:

• Anesthesiology
• Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

Background:

• Nasotracheal intubation is standard for oral maxillofacial surgery, but postoperative sore throat and hoarseness are common complications.
• A previously reported fiberoptic technique visualizes the tube tip to prevent impingement, but its effect on complications was unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

• To retrospectively determine the effect of an "observative" fiberoptic scope technique on postoperative sore throat following nasotracheal intubation.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 104 adult patients undergoing oral maxillofacial surgery with nasotracheal intubation.
• Comparison between traditional and "observative" fiberoptic intubation methods using a 4.8 mm outer diameter scope and 6.5-8.0 mm ID tubes.
• Data collected included patient demographics, anesthesia details, intubation parameters, and incidence/severity of sore throat and hoarseness.

Main Results:

• No significant differences in clinical characteristics or anesthetic data between the traditional (n=51) and observative (n=53) groups.
• Incidence of postoperative sore throat, hoarseness, and recovery time were not significantly different between the two groups (P > 0.44).
• Visual analog scale (VAS) scores for sore throat showed no significant difference between groups on the operative day or the day after.

Conclusions:

• The "observative" fiberoptic scope technique for nasotracheal intubation does not influence postoperative sore throat or recovery.
• This technique does not appear to offer an advantage in reducing common postoperative complications associated with nasotracheal intubation.