Clinical Research Directory

Comparative Analysis of a Preoperative Airway Ultrasound Protocol and Direct Laryngoscopy in Oncologic Surgery Patients

This prospective observational study evaluated the predictive performance of the Difficult Airway Evaluation with Sonography (DARES) protocol for identifying difficult laryngoscopy and other airway management difficulties in adult patients undergoing elective oncologic surgery. Preoperative airway ultrasonography was performed together with conventional clinical airway assessment. Ultrasound parameters included the distance from skin to epiglottis (DSE), hyomental distance (HMD) measured in different head positions, hyomental distance ratios (HMDR1 and HMDR2), and tongue thickness (TT). Conventional airway assessment parameters were also recorded. The primary objective was to evaluate the ability of ultrasound-derived airway parameters to predict difficult laryngoscopy, defined as a Cormack-Lehane grade \>2a (grades 2b, 3, or 4) during direct laryngoscopy, and to compare their predictive performance with conventional clinical airway assessment methods. Secondary objectives included evaluating the relationship between ultrasound parameters and difficult mask ventilation, assessed using the Han scale; investigating their relationship with difficulties or complications encountered during extubation; and exploring differences in airway ultrasound parameters and their predictive performance across oncologic patient subgroups.