Difficult airway predictor tests and findings under direct laryngoscopy in the operating room of Esmeraldas Sur General Hospital Delfina Torres de Concha

Abstract

Introduction: The combination of predictive tests of the difficult airway during the preanesthetic evaluation and the preparation of surgical patients is essential to reduce the
morbidity and mortali-ty rate. Objective: To analyze the relationship between the difficult airway predictive tests and the findings under direct laryngoscopy in patients who are operated on in the operating room of the Hospital General Esmeraldas Sur Delfina Torres de Concha. The aforementioned health institution has not previously registered a study of these characteristics. Materials and Methods: The rese-arch design that was applied was qualitative, cross-sectional with a descriptive approach. Conse-quently, data from the anesthesiology form of 150 medical records of patients who were referred for surgery from February 2019 to July 2019 were observed and collected. The variables examined corresponded to adult patients, difficult airway, VAD predictor tests and direct laryngoscopy. Results: They showed that the test that alerted more cases of VAD is mandibular protrusion with 59.30%, followed by thyromental distance with 40.00%. Likewise, the findings under laryngosco-py led to difficult intubation procedures, being related to other VAD predictive tests. Conclusions: The combination of several VAD tests empower physicians to plan timely responses to the presence of problems.