Background: Sore throat and hoarseness are common postoperative complications in patients who undergo tracheal intubation. In this study, we evaluated the severity of postoperative sore throat and the incidence of hoarseness in 60 patients after tracheal intubation.
Methods: 60 patients (ASA PS 1 or 2, 29 males and 31 females) scheduled for general anesthesia with endotracheal intubation were enrolled in this study. They were divided into three groups. Lidocaine 4% was sprayed into the trachea in the sprayed group (n=20). The distal end of the endotracheal tube was lubricated with 2% lidocaine jelly in the lubricated group (n=20). No intervention to the endotracheal tube was carried out in the no-intervention group (n=20). We evaluated the visual analogue scale (VAS) of sore throat and the incidence of hoarseness in each group at the end of general anesthesia and the next day.
Results: VAS scores of sore throat at the end of anesthesia were 9.2 +/- 3.4 mm in the sprayed group, 27.8 +/- 5.7 mm in the lubricated group, and 11.8 +/- 4.4 mm in the no-intervention group. VAS scores on the next day were 2.5 +/- 1.4 mm in the sprayed group, 14.0 +/- 4.3 mm in the lubricated group, and 2.2 +/- 1.7 mm in the no-intervention group. Both VAS scores at the end of anesthesia and the day after anesthesia were significantly higher in the lubricated group than others (P<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in hoarseness among the three groups.
Conclusions: In this study, VAS scores at the end of anesthesia and the next day were both significantly higher in the lubricated group than in others. Furthermore, there is no significant difference in VAS between the sprayed group and the no-intervention group. These data suggest that lidocaine jelly lubrication to the endotracheal tube reinforces the severity of sore throat. On the other hand, there was no significant difference in VAS between the sprayed group and the no-intervention group. This suggests that lidocaine sprayed to the trachea does not reduce postoperative sore throat.