COMPARISON OF THE RATIO OF NECK CIRCUMFERENCE TO INTER INCISOR GAP TO PREDICT DIFFICULT INTUBATION

Introduction: Careful airway assessment before the induction of anaesthesia is of utmost importance as poor airway management has been recognized as a serious patient safety concern for almost three decades. Many studies have tried to develop some bedside tests that are easy to perform and don't take the time and need special equipment, but all these tests have their limitations, and no single one is complete. Data was collected in two steps; Pre op Methodology: erative assessment & Intra operative assessment Pre operative assessment. Measurements of airway assessment variables like Inter Incisor Gap (IIG), IID, Neck Circumference were taken in pre op room or one day prior to surgery. Intra operative assessment Difficulty of intubation was assessed by the anaesthetist performing intubation. 118 pati Results: ents were studied for evaluation of the effectiveness of the ratio of neck circumference to inter incisor gap ratio in predicting difficult intubation. RNCIIG was found to have a sensitivity of 80.00% (44.39% to 97.48%), a specificity of 96.30% (90.79% to 98.98%), a PPV of 66.67% (42.14% to 84.60%), a NPV of 98.11% (93.77% to 99.45%) and a diagnostic accuracy of 94.92% (89.26% to 98.11%). The study recommends the use of ratio of airway assessment tests, prefer Conclusion: ably RNCIIG, for routine preoperative examination of patients as they have been found to have very good diagnostic accuracy and are highly effective in predicting difficult intubation as it is simple & convenient.