Short Neck, a new criterion for airway assessment A pilot, cohort single blind study

Abstract Purpose Short Neck is a term used by anesthesiologists to describe one of the risk factors for difficult airway management. However, the term Short Neck is very subjective and has not been standardized. We attempt to quantify Short Neck.Methods A pilot prospective single blinded study was conducted at Hamad General Hospital, Doha, Qatar between March 2018 and October 2018. 97 adult patients scheduled for elective surgery under general anesthesia were recruited. Measurements of airway assessment, including neck length, were documented prior to anesthesia. The operators (anesthesiologists) were blinded. Intubation Difficulty Scale was used. All data were documented and analysed afterwards. Patients were of three groups according to Intubation Difficulty Scale (IDS): Group A: IDS 0, Group B: IDS >0 - ≤5 and Group C: IDS >5.Results Five patients (5.2%) with intubation difficulty score >5 have a mean neck length 7.6 cm. Short Neck was found to have a significant p value 0.022 within the three groups.Conclusions Patient's features relevant to airway assessment are rather difficult to quantify. This is the first reported attempt to obtain an objective value for Short Neck in routine airway assessment.