Magnitude and Associated Risk Factors of Post-Operative Sore Throat Following Surgery by General Anesthesia with Endotracheal Intubation in Black Lion Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Background: A complaint of postoperative pharyngeal discomfort is so prevalent that it is almost expected by patients and anesthetist alike as an unavoidable part of routine anesthesia. Complaints range from a minor throat irritation to debilitating pain, inability to swallow and temporary voice changes, and are a frequent observation on the postoperative visit. There is no data regarding the magnitude of post-operative airway complications and their associated risk factors in Ethiopia. Objective: The purpose of this study is to assess the magnitude and possible associated risk factors for postoperative sore throat following surgery by general anesthesia with endotracheal intubation. Methods and Materials: Institutional based crossectional study design was conducted in Black Lion Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from February 1-30, 2016 in patients aged 18 years and above who underwent surgery under anesthesia with endotracheal intubation using structured questionnaire prepared on variables being measured. Bivariate analysis and binary logistic regression was used to measure association between dependent and independent variables. P value 0.05 was used as cut off point. Results: Out of 114 patients who had elective surgery by anesthesia with endotracheal intubation, 52(45.6%) of the study participants complained of various forms of post-operative throat complaints. In this study it was found that size of ETT showed statistically significant association with the post-operative sore throat with p-value 0.001, (AOR- 0.214, 95% CI 0.090-0.512) and the duration of anesthesia/surgery also showed statistically significant association with POST with p-value 0.014, (AOR 0.14, 95% CI 0.029-0.676). Conclusion and Recommendation: The findings of this study confirmed previous observations that the larger the ETT size, the higher the incidence of postoperative respiratory morbidities. Although tracheal intubation remains an absolute necessity for good airway protection for different surgical procedures, we recommended to use the smaller ETT sizes (6.5, 7.0 mm ID) to minimize the pressure-induced trauma on the laryngeal and tracheal mucosae.