Incidence of Postoperative Sore Throat in the Pediatric Population. An Observational Cohort Prospective Study

Endotracheal tubes (ETT) and laryngeal mask airways (LMA) are devices used to help breathing whilst patients are asleep for surgery. Children may have a more satisfying experience if the rate of of post operative sore throat (POST) and hoarseness (PH) could be reduced. The incidence of POST and PH may be as high as 42% in children undergoing anesthesia. ETTs and LMAs require inflation of a cuff after insertion to obtain a seal to a patient's airway for them to be effective. It is recommended that cuff pressures are checked after insertion and inflation with a pressure checking device but this does not occur in all routine anesthetic practice. Overinflation of these cuffs may cause damage to the airway by exerting pressure on surrounding structures. Studies have shown both children and adults to have increased risk of POST with higher LMA pressure. The number of times it takes to successfully insert a LMA has also been associated with POST as has female gender and older age.

Similarly to LMAs, multiple insertion attempts of ETT insertion, female gender and a larger size are more likely to cause POST and PH.

Although patients with uncuffed have a higher incidence of POST than those with a cuffed ETT, when using cuffed tubes ETT, POST occurs more often as cuff pressure increases and should therefore be routinely measured.

The location of a patient's sore throat may vary. It may be intermittent or constant, or described as difficulty in swallowing, painful swallowing or hoarse voice and may there may be difference locations within the throat. In the current literature there is no one definition of what constitutes a sore throat or how or when it should be measured.

The hypothesis is that occurrence and severity of POST could be determined by various factors other than the pressure of the cuff alone. In particular, the pressure of cuff, the duration of anesthesia, the airway manipulations, could all be factors determining the occurrence of postoperative sore throat.

Based on the above hypothesis, Investigators planed to perform a prospective cohort study.

Aims: to determine the occurrence and severity of post-anaesthesia sore throat in children undergoing surgical procedures with LMA or ETT placement.

If clear factors are demonstrated for POST and PH in pediatric population then measures can be taken to reduce them and thereby improve outcome and patient satisfaction.