The Relationship between the Timing of Sugammadex Administration and the Upper Airway Obstruction during Awakening from Anesthesia: A Retrospective Study

Background and Objectives: The harmonization of recovery of consciousness and muscular function is important in emergence from anesthesia. Even if muscular function is recovered, tracheal extubation without adequate recovery of consciousness may increase the risk of respiratory complications. In particular, upper airway obstruction is one of the common respiratory complications and can sometimes be fatal. However, the association between the timing of sugammadex administration and the upper airway obstruction that can occur during awakening from anesthesia has rarely been studied. Materials and Methods: The medical records of 456 patients who had surgery under general endotracheal anesthesia (GETA) at the Haeundae Paik Hospital between October 2017 and July 2018 and who received intravenous sugammadex to reverse rocuronium-induced neuromuscular blockade were analyzed. The correlations between bispectral index (BIS) and minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) at the time of sugammadex administration, the incidence of complications, and the time to tracheal extubation were analyzed to investigate how different timings of sugammadex administration affected upper airway obstruction after tracheal extubation. Conclusions: The effect of BIS and the duration from anesthetic discontinuation to sugammadex administration on upper airway obstruction was not statistically significant. However, the odds ratio of complication rates with MAC < 0.3 compared with MAC ≥ 0.3 was 0.40 (95% confidence interval 0.20 to 0.81, p = 0.011), showing a statistically significant increase in risk with MAC ≥ 0.3 for upper airway obstruction.