Prolonged Tracheal Intubation in the ICU as a Possible Risk Factor for Arytenoid Dislocation After Liver Transplant Surgery: A Retrospective Case-Control Study

BACKGROUND: Arytenoid dislocation (AD) is a rare complication of general anesthesia with tracheal intubation, with a published incidence of 0.009–0.097%. This retrospective case-control study aimed to identify risk factors associated with AD in patients who underwent liver transplantation. MATERIAL/METHODS: This study included 476 patients who underwent liver transplantation between January 2013 and December 2022. Patients with AD who underwent surgery were included in the AD group. For each case of AD, 4 patients matched by anesthesia type and anesthetist were randomly selected as the non-AD group. Data on patient characteristics, anesthetic factors, and surgical factors were collected and compared between patients with and without AD. Logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the risk factors for AD after liver transplantation. RESULTS: Of the 476 patients who underwent liver transplantation, 17 (3.57%) had AD. AD occurred on the left side in 13 patients and on the right side in 4 patients. The 17 patients who experienced AD and 68 matched non-AD patients were enrolled. Patients in the AD group had a greater intubation depth (24 [23–24] vs 24 [24–24], P=0.043), a higher level of hemoglobin (134.5 [118–147.5] vs 112 [96.25–125], P=0.014), and prolonged tracheal intubation in the ICU (19.75 [15.87–31.87] vs 13 [10.62–15], P<0.001) compared to those in the non-dislocation group. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that prolonged tracheal intubation in the ICU was independently associated with the occurrence of AD in patients who underwent liver transplantation (P=0.013). CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that the incidence of AD was 3.57% in patients undergoing liver transplant surgery and that prolonged tracheal intubation in the ICU was a possible risk factor for AD.