AIM: This study aimed to retrospectively compare the outer diameter of the endotracheal tube to glottic transverse diameter (ODET/GTD) ratio between patients with and without postoperative sore throat (POST). An optimal ODET/GTD ratio cut-point was explored to provide a reference for endotracheal tube (ETT) selection and potentially help manage the risk of POST. METHODS: We reviewed 150 patients in the Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU). Among these, 68 patients developed POST and 82 did not. The ODET/GTD ratio was calculated for each patient. This ratio was compared between the two patient groups. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis was performed, and the Youden index was used to identify the optimal ODET/GTD ratio cut-point for predicting POST. RESULTS: The overall incidence of POST was 45.33%. The mean ODET/GTD ratio was significantly lower in patients without POST (1.02 ± 0.06) than in those with POST (1.18 ± 0.08), p < 0.01. ROC analysis identified an optimal ODET/GTD ratio cut-point of 1.10 (Youden index = 0.79) for predicting POST, with a sensitivity of 85% and a specificity of 79%. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that a higher ODET/GTD ratio may contribute to the development of POST. Based on the ROC curve analysis, the ODET/GTD ratio of 1.10 was determined as a potential reference cutoff value for stratifying the risk of POST. These findings suggest that the ODET/GTD ratio may be useful for perioperative risk assessment; however, before applying it to guide the selection of tracheal intubation, further prospective studies and external validation are still needed.
Zhu et al. (Fri,) studied this question.