Is There a Role for Ultrasonography in the Airway Management of Patients With Obesity

In this prospective and randomized controlled study, mallampati scores, interincisor gap, thyromental distance, neck circumference measurement and upper lip bite test scores will be recorded in sixty obese patients.

Additionally, neck tissue thickness will be recorded at 4 different levels (hyoid bone-skin distance, epiglot-skin distance , thyroid istmus-skin distance, vocal cord-skin distance) after the sniffing position by ultrasound with the linear probe. All measurements will be repeated three times and an average values will be recorded.

After all this measurements, endotracheal intubation will be performed by an experienced anesthetist who is uninformed about study. During intubation the Cormack Lehane (C/L, grade 1: full view of the vocal cords; grade 2a: partial view of the glottis; 2b: posterior part of the vocal cord and arytenoids visible; grade 3: only epiglottis visible; and grade 4: neither epiglottis nor glottis visible) and the Intubation Difficulty Scale (IDS) score (the numbers of attempts, operators, and alternative techniques used, the C/L grade of laryngoscopic view, lifting force and external laryngeal manipulation required, and position of the vocal cords. Every insertion of the laryngoscope and advancement of the tracheal tube towards the glottis counted as an attempt. A score of >5 indicates moderate-to-major difficulty) will be recorded.