In a study of 420 patients, 19.8% were identified as having difficult mask ventilation and 24.0% as having difficult intubation.
The showed greater predictive power for difficult mask ventilation and difficult intubation compared to the STOP-Bang and Berlin scoring systems.
A cut-off value of 6.5 for the NoSAS score was determined for predicting difficult mask ventilation.
A cut-off value of 7.5 for the NoSAS score was determined for predicting difficult intubation.
The NoSAS score is designed to be an easy-to-use and rapid tool for identifying obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS).
Routine use of the NoSAS score may improve preoperative assessment of airway difficulty in patients undergoing general anesthesia.
Simplified
BACKGROUND: This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of the NoSAS, STOP-Bang, and Berlin scoring systems, which are utilized to predict obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), in forecasting difficult airway management. Additionally, the study sought to determine which of these scoring systems is the most practical and effective for this purpose.
METHODS: Following the ethics committee approval, preoperative NoSAS, STOP-Bang, and Berlin scores were calculated for 420 patients aged 18 years and older who were scheduled for tracheal intubation. Mask ventilation and intubation were performed by research assistant with a minimum of two years of experience. Detailed examinations and recordings were conducted, including demographic data, neck circumference, OSAS diagnosis, history of difficult intubation, comorbidities, ASA classification, Mallampati classification, and Cormack-Lehane grade. Subsequently, the predictive efficacy of these three scoring systems for difficult mask ventilation and difficult intubation was compared.
RESULTS: In our study, 83 patients (19.8%) were classified as having difficult mask ventilation, and 101 patients (24.0%) were classified as having difficult intubation. The demonstrated a higher predictive power compared to the other scoring systems for difficult mask ventilation and difficult intubation. The cut-off value for the NoSAS score was determined to be 6.5 for predicting difficult mask ventilation and 7.5 for predicting difficult intubation.
CONCLUSION: The routine implementation of the NoSAS score, an easy-to-use, rapid and objective tool primarily developed for OSAS screening, is likely to be effective in preoperatively identifying difficult airways in patients undergoing general anesthesia.
Key numbers
83 of 420
Difficult Mask Ventilation Rate
Patients classified with difficult mask ventilation.
101 of 420
Difficult Intubation Rate
Patients classified with difficult intubation.
6.5
Cut-off for Mask Ventilation
Cut-off value determined for .
Full Text
We can’t show the full text here under this license.
Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: This study was approved by the Süleyman Demirel University Clinical Research Ethics Committee (decision number 41, dated March 6, 2023). An informed consent to participate was obtained from all of the participants in the study. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.
