INTUBATION IN OBESE PATIENTS
Objectives: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of ratio of neck circumferenceto thyromental distance to predict the difficult intubation in obese patients by using Intubationdifficulty scale as gold standard. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Place and Durationof Study: Jinnah Hospital, Department of Anesthesia, Lahore from August 2013 to July 2014.Methodology: 250 patients were included. Ratio of neck circumference to thyromental distancewas measured during preoperative assessment in all patients. Results: There were 59.2% malesand 40.8% females with mean age of patients was 37.13+11.64 years. 19.2% patients showeddifficult intubation and 80.8% easy. Sensitivity of NC/TM was 89.58% and Specificity 72.77% withpositive predictive value of 43.88% and Negative predictive value of 96.71%. Conclusion: Neckcircumference to thyromental distance ratio is sensitive method for determining the difficultintubation among obese patients.