Ultrasonography Assessment of Neck Anatomy for Prediction of Difficult Mask Ventilation in Obese Patients: A Prospective Observational Study

<b>Background</b>: Effective mask ventilation is a very important aspect of ensuring adequate oxygenation and ventilation. However, predicting difficult mask ventilation (DMV) using bedside clinical tests remains challenging due to poor sensitivity. Our objective was to determine the cor...

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Main Authors: Ignatius Wong Hsun-Hong, Azarinah Izaham, Syarifah Noor Nazihah Sayed Masri, Muhammad Maaya, Siti Nidzwani Mohamad Mahdi, Khazrul Nizar Abd Kader, Maryam Budiman, Yazmin Yaacob
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Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-06-01
Series:Diagnostics
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4418/15/13/1615
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author Ignatius Wong Hsun-Hong
Azarinah Izaham
Syarifah Noor Nazihah Sayed Masri
Muhammad Maaya
Siti Nidzwani Mohamad Mahdi
Khazrul Nizar Abd Kader
Maryam Budiman
Yazmin Yaacob
author_facet Ignatius Wong Hsun-Hong
Azarinah Izaham
Syarifah Noor Nazihah Sayed Masri
Muhammad Maaya
Siti Nidzwani Mohamad Mahdi
Khazrul Nizar Abd Kader
Maryam Budiman
Yazmin Yaacob
author_sort Ignatius Wong Hsun-Hong
collection DOAJ
description <b>Background</b>: Effective mask ventilation is a very important aspect of ensuring adequate oxygenation and ventilation. However, predicting difficult mask ventilation (DMV) using bedside clinical tests remains challenging due to poor sensitivity. Our objective was to determine the correlation between the preoperative ultrasonography of anterior neck anatomy and difficult mask ventilation in different obesity classes. <b>Methods</b>: A prospective, observational study enrolled 90 adult obese patients undergoing general anesthesia from December 2020 to November 2021 (30 patients for each class of obesity). Ultrasonography measurements were recorded for the distance of skin (DS) to hyoid bone (DSHB), epiglottis (DSEM), the anterior commissure of the vocal cords (DSAC), thyroid isthmus (DSTI), and trachea at jugular notch (DSTJ). The difficulty of bag mask ventilation was graded using the Han scale. The Kendall Tau correlation coefficient was used to correlate the different ultrasonography parameters to DMV. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to determine the sensitivity and specificity of the measured ultrasonography distances, and the Youden index was used to calculate the optimal cut-off values. <b>Results</b>: Results revealed twenty patients (22.2%) were categorized as having difficult mask ventilation. There was a statistically significant increase (<i>p</i> = 0.011) in the number of patients with Mallampati II in class III obesity compared to class I obesity. DSHB showed a statistically significant and strong correlation with difficult mask ventilation in patients with class II (<i>p</i> = 0.002, r = 0.464) and class III obesity (<i>p</i> = 0.002, r = 0.475). A DSHB cut-off value of 1.35 cm has a sensitivity of 83.3% and specificity of 78.8% for class III obesity. Similarly, a DSTJ cut-off value of 1.13 cm has a sensitivity of 83.3% and specificity of 66.7% for class III obesity. <b>Conclusions</b>: Notably, DSHB was the most specific parameter and equally as sensitive as DSTJ in predicting difficult mask ventilation in morbidly obese patients.
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spelling doaj-art-55e2197af27e475fbcd646434e7c8a862025-08-20T03:16:43ZengMDPI AGDiagnostics2075-44182025-06-011513161510.3390/diagnostics15131615Ultrasonography Assessment of Neck Anatomy for Prediction of Difficult Mask Ventilation in Obese Patients: A Prospective Observational StudyIgnatius Wong Hsun-Hong0Azarinah Izaham1Syarifah Noor Nazihah Sayed Masri2Muhammad Maaya3Siti Nidzwani Mohamad Mahdi4Khazrul Nizar Abd Kader5Maryam Budiman6Yazmin Yaacob7Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Yaacob Latif, Bandar Tun Razak, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur 56000, MalaysiaDepartment of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Yaacob Latif, Bandar Tun Razak, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur 56000, MalaysiaDepartment of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Yaacob Latif, Bandar Tun Razak, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur 56000, MalaysiaDepartment of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Yaacob Latif, Bandar Tun Razak, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur 56000, MalaysiaDepartment of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Yaacob Latif, Bandar Tun Razak, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur 56000, MalaysiaDepartment of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Yaacob Latif, Bandar Tun Razak, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur 56000, MalaysiaDepartment of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Yaacob Latif, Bandar Tun Razak, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur 56000, MalaysiaDepartment of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Yaacob Latif, Bandar Tun Razak, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia<b>Background</b>: Effective mask ventilation is a very important aspect of ensuring adequate oxygenation and ventilation. However, predicting difficult mask ventilation (DMV) using bedside clinical tests remains challenging due to poor sensitivity. Our objective was to determine the correlation between the preoperative ultrasonography of anterior neck anatomy and difficult mask ventilation in different obesity classes. <b>Methods</b>: A prospective, observational study enrolled 90 adult obese patients undergoing general anesthesia from December 2020 to November 2021 (30 patients for each class of obesity). Ultrasonography measurements were recorded for the distance of skin (DS) to hyoid bone (DSHB), epiglottis (DSEM), the anterior commissure of the vocal cords (DSAC), thyroid isthmus (DSTI), and trachea at jugular notch (DSTJ). The difficulty of bag mask ventilation was graded using the Han scale. The Kendall Tau correlation coefficient was used to correlate the different ultrasonography parameters to DMV. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to determine the sensitivity and specificity of the measured ultrasonography distances, and the Youden index was used to calculate the optimal cut-off values. <b>Results</b>: Results revealed twenty patients (22.2%) were categorized as having difficult mask ventilation. There was a statistically significant increase (<i>p</i> = 0.011) in the number of patients with Mallampati II in class III obesity compared to class I obesity. DSHB showed a statistically significant and strong correlation with difficult mask ventilation in patients with class II (<i>p</i> = 0.002, r = 0.464) and class III obesity (<i>p</i> = 0.002, r = 0.475). A DSHB cut-off value of 1.35 cm has a sensitivity of 83.3% and specificity of 78.8% for class III obesity. Similarly, a DSTJ cut-off value of 1.13 cm has a sensitivity of 83.3% and specificity of 66.7% for class III obesity. <b>Conclusions</b>: Notably, DSHB was the most specific parameter and equally as sensitive as DSTJ in predicting difficult mask ventilation in morbidly obese patients.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4418/15/13/1615airway managementultrasonography neckdifficult mask ventilation
spellingShingle Ignatius Wong Hsun-Hong
Azarinah Izaham
Syarifah Noor Nazihah Sayed Masri
Muhammad Maaya
Siti Nidzwani Mohamad Mahdi
Khazrul Nizar Abd Kader
Maryam Budiman
Yazmin Yaacob
Ultrasonography Assessment of Neck Anatomy for Prediction of Difficult Mask Ventilation in Obese Patients: A Prospective Observational Study
Diagnostics
airway management
ultrasonography neck
difficult mask ventilation
title Ultrasonography Assessment of Neck Anatomy for Prediction of Difficult Mask Ventilation in Obese Patients: A Prospective Observational Study
title_full Ultrasonography Assessment of Neck Anatomy for Prediction of Difficult Mask Ventilation in Obese Patients: A Prospective Observational Study
title_fullStr Ultrasonography Assessment of Neck Anatomy for Prediction of Difficult Mask Ventilation in Obese Patients: A Prospective Observational Study
title_full_unstemmed Ultrasonography Assessment of Neck Anatomy for Prediction of Difficult Mask Ventilation in Obese Patients: A Prospective Observational Study
title_short Ultrasonography Assessment of Neck Anatomy for Prediction of Difficult Mask Ventilation in Obese Patients: A Prospective Observational Study
title_sort ultrasonography assessment of neck anatomy for prediction of difficult mask ventilation in obese patients a prospective observational study
topic airway management
ultrasonography neck
difficult mask ventilation
url https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4418/15/13/1615
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