Correlation of Post-Intubation Croup with duration of General Anesthesia in Children undergoing Genitourinary Surgery

Objective: To evaluate the effect of intubation time on frequency of post-extubation croup in children undergoing genitourinary surgery. Study Design: Prospective longitudinal study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Anesthesia, Combined Military Hospital, Rawalpindi Pakistan, from Mar to Sep 2022. Methodology: Pediatric participants of either gender aged between 06 months to 12 years, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Grade I or II planned for elective genitourinary procedures under general anesthesia were included in the trial after obtaining a written informed consent. Stratification sampling technique was used to divide the patients into Group-A with intubation time <01hr and Group-B with intubation time >01hr. History of respiratory tract infections, characteristics of patients, intubation time, traumatic intubations were the recorded parameters. Results: There were 245(58.1%) vs 177(80.5%) ASA-I patients in Group-A and Group-B respectively, and 35(12.5%) vs 43(19.5%) ASA-II. In Group-B a total of 11(5%) out of 220 patients developed croup after extubation while only 01(0.4%) out of 280 participants in Group-A experienced post extubation croup. Patients aged 1-4yrs had the highest frequency of croup 07(58.3%). Traumatic intubations and upper respiratory infections were significant factors leading to croup after extubation (p-value <0.01). Conclusion: Intubation time greater than 01-hour in children undergoing genitourinary surgery increases the chances of post extubation croup. In age range of 1-4 years, traumatic intubations and history of upper respiratory tract infections are the identified risk factors for croup.