Correlation between neck circumference measurement and obesity type with difficult intubation in obese patients undergoing elective surgery

Abstract

How to cite: Çelik G, Zengin SU, Ergun MO, Umuroğlu T. Correlation between neck circumference measurement and obesity type with difficult intubation in obese patients undergoing elective surgery. J Surg Med. 2021;5(9):912-916. J Surg Med. 2021;5(9):912-916. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License 4.0 (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) where it is permissible to download, share, remix, transform, and buildup the work provided it is properly cited. The work cannot be used commercially without permission from the journal. Abstract Background/Aim: The number of obese patients undergoing elective surgery is increasing day by day. However, there are conflicting data in the literature about factors predicting difficult tracheal intubation in obese patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the commonly used predictors of difficult intubation in obese patients (body mass index (BMI) >35 kg/m 2) who wish to undergo elective surgery and to examine the association of neck circumference and obesity type with difficult intubation. Methods: This observational, cross-sectional, prospective study was performed after obtaining approval from the ethics committee. Obese patients over the age of 18 years, requiring tracheal intubation, undergoing elective surgery, and with a BMI greater than 35 were included in this study. Patients with a history of cervical spine anomaly or trauma, congenital facial anomaly or trauma affecting this region, those who would undergo emergency surgery, patients with a known history of difficult airway or upper respiratory tract disease, and those with planned awake intubation were excluded from the study. Preoperative anesthetic evaluation was performed for all patients, their relevant measurements were obtained, and medical histories were taken as required for the study. The association of the patients' BMI,