BACKGROUND: Endotracheal intubation is a common procedure in anesthesia, which can usually be accomplished easily. However, if the attempt is unexpectedly difficult the patient may be seriously at risk. If we can anticipate difficult intubation by assessing the airways in advance, anesthesiologists can plan the safest and most effective way of managing tracheal intubation. The purpose of this study is to evaluate a correlation between airway assessment factors and laryngoscopic grades for predicting difficult intubation. METHODS: The data were collected from a total of 427(male 189) patients older than 16 years of age undergoing non-emergency surgery. Seven airway assessment factors, measured at three levels of severity, were evaluated. Airway assessment factors include inter incisor gap, Samsoon and Young classification, thyromental distance, head and neck movement, body weight, history of difficult intubation and buck teeth. RESULTS: There was a significant correlation between total airway score and laryngoscopic grade. The incidence of difficult intubations was 9 out of 427 patients. Samsoon and Young classification, thyromental distance, head and neck movement, history of difficult intubation were significantly independent airway factors for predicting difficult intubations. Increase of total airway score represents the risk of difficult intubations. CONCLUSION: We suggest that total airway score could be used as a valuable predictor for assessing difficult intubations.
Anesthesia ; Body Weight ; Classification ; Head ; Humans ; Incidence ; Incisor ; Intubation* ; Intubation, Intratracheal ; Neck ; Tooth

BACKGROUND: As surgical techniques and postoperative care are improving, a pneumonectomy is a relatively popular surgical method in disease which is not treated completely with other types of pulmonary resection. However, a postpneumonectomy complication is a serious life-threatening problem if it occurrs. The purpose of this study is to evaluate determinants for postoperative mortality after pneumonectomy. METHODS: Patients were divided for study as follows: the Dead group versus the Alive group. To determine whether age, operation site, operation time, intraoperative fiuid intake, urine output, blood loss, complications, preoperative and intraoperative arterial blood gas analyses, and preoperative pulmonary function tests influence the determinants for postoperative mortality after pneumonectomy, a rettospecive analysis was performed on 71 patients who had undergone pneumonectomy from 1990to 1994 in Kosin Medical COLLEGE hOSPITAL. RESULTS: Operation time and blood loss were longer and greater respectively in the Dead group. The intraoperative PaO2 was lower and incidence of complications was more frequent in the Dead group.Otherwise there were no significant differences between two groups. CONCLUSION: We concluded that operation time, blood loss, incidence of complications and intra-operative PaO2 were closely related with postoperative mortality.
Blood Gas Analysis ; Humans ; Incidence ; Mortality* ; Pneumonectomy* ; Postoperative Care ; Respiratory Function Tests