INCIDENCE OF HEMODYNAMIC RESPONSE TO LARYNGOSCOPY AND INTUBATION UNDER GENERAL ANESTHESIA

Abstract

During laryngoscopy and intubation, 41% of my 100 patients had their heart rate or blood pressure increase. This was higher among males (49.2%) than females (29.3%) and was statistically significant. A higher number of events was seen in ASA II patients (57.1%) as compared to ASA I patients (13.5%). This is not unusual, as individuals who have slight health problems are more likely to be affected by stress. There was also a clear age effect – just 8.7% of the youngest group experienced events, but 55.6% of the oldest group did. The figure of 14% needing a rescue drug only tells me that most events were mild and went away all by themselves. Patients who had an event had a slightly longer laryngoscopy time (16.6 seconds) compared to those without an event (14.0 seconds). However, the event rate was greater for the patients requiring two attempts to tube insertion compared to those inserting the tube on the first attempt (47.6% vs. 39.2%). The most prevalent pattern was for the patient to have both fast heart rate and high blood pressure. Overall, the ASA II status, male sex and age are important risk factors that should be taken into special consideration during intubation.