Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42487297›Full record

Observational studyAnnals of African medicine2026

Evaluation of Airway Assessment Parameters: Hyomental Distance versus Ultrasound-guided Pretracheal Tissue Thickness as Predictors of Difficult Laryngoscopy.

S Kamaludeen, Ampalaya Meenu Raghunathan, Thamizh Thendral, K Cheran, Jeyakumar Balakrishnan

Abstract readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in Annals of African medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

S KamaludeenDepartment of Anaesthesiology, Vinayaka Mission's Medical College and Hospital, Vinayaka Missions Research Foundation, Deemed to be University, Karaikal, Puducherry, India.
Ampalaya Meenu RaghunathanDepartment of Anaesthesiology, Vinayaka Mission's Medical College and Hospital, Vinayaka Missions Research Foundation, Deemed to be University, Karaikal, Puducherry, India.
Thamizh ThendralDepartment of Anaesthesiology, Vinayaka Mission's Medical College and Hospital, Vinayaka Missions Research Foundation, Deemed to be University, Karaikal, Puducherry, India.
K CheranDepartment of Anaesthesiology, Vinayaka Mission's Medical College and Hospital, Vinayaka Missions Research Foundation, Deemed to be University, Karaikal, Puducherry, India.
Jeyakumar BalakrishnanCentral Research Laboratory for Biomedical Research, Vinayaka Mission's Medical College and Hospital, Vinayaka Missions Research Foundation, Deemed to be University, Karaikal, Puducherry, India.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDifficult airway remains a major cause of anesthesia-related morbidity and mortality despite advances in airway management. Conventional clinical predictors have limited predictive value. Airway ultrasound has emerged as a noninvasive tool that may improve preoperative airway assessment.

aimThe study aimed to evaluate the utility of ultrasonography as a preoperative assessment tool for predicting difficult airway and to compare its predictive accuracy with hyomental distance. MATERIALS AND

methodsThis prospective observational study included 100 adult patients undergoing elective surgery under general anesthesia requiring endotracheal intubation. Preoperative airway assessment involved measurement of hyomental distance and ultrasonographic measurement of pretracheal soft-tissue thickness at the level of the vocal cords. After induction of anesthesia, direct laryngoscopy was performed and graded using the Cormack-Lehane classification.

resultsThe mean hyomental distance was significantly lower in patients with difficult laryngoscopy. Pretracheal soft-tissue thickness measured by ultrasound was significantly higher in this group ( P = 0.0001) and showed a stronger association with poor glottic visualization.

conclusionUltrasonographic measurement of pretracheal soft-tissue thickness is a reliable and superior predictor of difficult laryngoscopy and may enhance routine preoperative airway assessment and patient safety.

Indexed as

Airway ManagementIntubation, IntratrachealLaryngoscopyTracheaAdultAgedAnesthesia, GeneralElective Surgical ProceduresFemaleGlottisHumansMaleMiddle AgedPredictive Value of TestsPreoperative CareProspective StudiesAirway assessmentairway ultrasounddifficult airwaydifficult laryngoscopydistance hyomentonnièreéchographie des voies aériennesépaisseur des tissus prétrachéauxévaluation des voies aérienneshyomental distancelaryngoscopie difficilepretracheal tissue thicknessVoies aériennes difficiles

Identifiers

PMID42487297
PMCPMC13645242

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.