Postoperative discomfort and emergence delirium in children undergoing dental rehabilitation under general anesthesia: comparison of nasal tracheal intubation and laryngeal mask airway.

backgroundSeveral studies have identified side effects of general anesthesia with endotracheal intubation, such as laryngeal pain, dysphonia, and postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV). The laryngeal mask airway (LMAw) is believed to decrease these side effects. The aim of this trial was to compare postoperative discomfort, emergence delirium, and recovery time of patients who received either an LMAw or nasotracheal intubation (NTI). PATIENTS AND

methodsA total of 70 children were randomly assigned to the LMAw group (n=35) or the NTI group (n=35). Both groups underwent mask induction with 8% sevoflurane. The NTI group received muscle relaxant, whereas the LMAw group did not. Postoperative laryngeal pain, dental pain, dysphonia, and PONV were assessed immediately and at 1 hour and 6 hours postoperatively. The Wong-Baker Faces Scale was used to evaluate the patients' self-reported pain. In addition, decayed, missing, and filled teeth (dft/DMFT) values, dental procedure type, number of dental procedures, duration of the dental operation, duration of anesthesia, recovery time, emergence delirium, pediatric dentist's access to the mouth, and parents' satisfaction levels were recorded. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and two-sample

resultsThe incidence of postoperative laryngeal pain was significantly higher in the NTI group immediately (97.2% vs. 8.5%,

conclusionThe LMAw provided a more comfortable postoperative period than NTI for children who underwent full-mouth dental rehabilitation under general anesthesia.