Maxillofac Plast Reconstr Surg.  2015 Jul;37(7):19. 10.1186/s40902-015-0021-5.

The evaluation of a scoring system in airway management after oral cancer surgery

• Lee HJ
• Kim JW
• Choi SY
• Kim CS
• Kwon TG
• Paeng JY

• KMID: 2381891
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1186/s40902-015-0021-5

Abstract

BACKGROUND
The purpose of this retrospective study was to investigate the usefulness of tracheostomy scoring system in the decision of postoperative airway management in oral cancer patients.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A total of 104 patients were reviewed in this retrospective study, who underwent radical resection with or without neck dissection and free flap reconstruction due to oral cancer. The patients were classified into three groups according to the timing of the extubation; extubated groups (n = 51), overnight intubation group (n = 45), and tracheostomy group (n = 8). Cameron's score was used to evaluate the relation between the state of the patient's airway and the type of the operation.
RESULTS
Tracheostomy was performed in eight patients (8/104, 7.7 %). A total of 22 patients (21.2 %) had more than 5 points of which 17 patients (77.3 %) did not have a tracheostomy and any postoperative emergency airway problems. The tracheostomy scores were significantly different among the three groups. Hospital stay showed a significant correlation with the tracheostomy score.
CONCLUSIONS
The scoring system did not quite agree with the airway management of the authors' clinic; however, it can be one of the clinical factors predicting the degree of the postoperative airway obstruction and surgical aggressiveness for recovery. The further studies are needed for clinically more reliable scoring systems.

Keyword

Tracheostomy; Oral cancer; Scoring system; Nasotracheal intubation

MeSH Terms

Airway Management*
Airway Obstruction
Emergencies
Free Tissue Flaps
Humans
Intubation
Length of Stay
Mouth Neoplasms*
Neck Dissection
Retrospective Studies
Tracheostomy