Background: General anesthesia may need insertion of ETT to secure the airway that may be more difficult to insertion in elderly patients. There are many anatomical, physiological, and cognitive changes that occur in the elderly that affect different components of airway management: intubation, ventilation, oxygenation.
Objectives: this study aim to study the abnormalities in airway assessment and its relation to difficult endotracheal intubation in elderly patients in Ibrahim Malik teaching Hospital 2022
Methodology: This study is an observational cross-section descriptive study it was conducted in Ibrahim Malik teaching hospital, during the period from February 2022 to March 2022, Data was collected by observation using a well-designed questionnaire, Data was entered, cleaned, and analyzed using SPSS 25.0
Results: this study reveal that: the mean age was 67.46 years, and the mean BMI was 26.44 kg/m2, 62% are male and 38% are female, most of them have a mouth opening > 6cm, TMD > 6 cm, SMD > 12 cm, Mallampati score 1, Mandible protrusion Score A, Normal Cervical spine movement, Cooks score class 1. 61% of the doctors notify that the intubation was not difficult, while 39% say it is difficult, the most frequent complications are Hypoxia and Mucosal injury, there is a significant correlation between difficulties in intubation with Mouth opening TMD score SMD score, and Cervical movement, there is a significant correlation between intubation difficulties and presence of complication.
Conclusion: Abnormalities in Airways in elderly are common. TMD, Cervical Spine movement, and Cooks Modified Score have the most important significant value in prediction of intubation difficulties and risk of complications.
