Correlation between clinical risk factors and tracheal intubation difficulty in infants with Pierre-Robin syndrome: A systematic review

Abstract

Background: Difficult tracheal intubation is a problem commonly encountered by anesthesiologists in the clinic. Methods: In this retrospective study, case-level clinical data and computed tomography images of 96 infants with Pierre-Robin syndrome were included in the analysis. First, computed tomography images were labeled by a clinically experienced physician. Then color space conversion, binarization, contour acquisition, and area calculation processing were performed on the annotated files. Finally, we calculated the correlation coefficient between the seven clinical factors and tracheal intubation difficulty, and the difference in each risk factor under tracheal intubation difficulty. Results: The absolute value of the correlation coefficient between throat area and tracheal intubation difficulty is 0.54, and the difference of throat area under tracheal intubation difficulty is significant. Body surface area, weight and gender also show significant difference under tracheal intubation difficulty. Conclusions: There is a significant correlation between throat area and tracheal intubation difficulty in infants with Pierre-Robin syndrome. Body surface area, weight and gender may have an impact on tracheal intubation difficulty in infants with Pierre-Robin syndrome.