Obstructive sleep apnea in surgical patients and its relationship with difficult intubation: two years of experience from a single center

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: In this study, we aimed to determine the risk of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in patients undergoing elective surgery and its relationship with difficult intubation (DI). METHODS: This prospective, descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted between December 2018 and February 2020 in the anesthesiology and reanimation service of a training and research hospital. The study included patients who were ASA I...II, 18 years of age, and older who underwent elective surgery under general anesthesia. A form regarding the baseline characteristics of the participants as well as STOP-Bang score, Mallampati, and Cormack-Lehane classification was used to collect the data. RESULTS: The study included 307 patients. It was determined that 64.2% of patients had a high risk of OSA. The presence of DI (determined by repeated attempts at intubation) was 28.6% in the high-risk OSA group, while there was no DI in the low-risk OSA group. A statistically significant difference was found between the groups in terms of OSA risk according to the presence of DI according to repeated attempts, Cormack-Lehane classification, and Mallampati classification (p...<...0.001). CONCLUSION: Due to the high rate of DI in patients with a high risk of OSA, the security of the airway in these patients is endangered. Early clinical recognition of OSA can help in designing a safer care plan.