Background: Postoperative sore throat after tracheal intubation is an unpleasant and distressing experience to patients. The aim of the study was to carry out a large-scale search for the risk factors of postoperative sore throat in patients undergoing endotracheal general anesthesia.
Methods: During a 6-month study period, patients (> or = 10 years old) who consecutively underwent endotracheal general anesthesia for all kinds of surgical procedures were included. A total of 7541 patients were recruited in our study.
Results: Five risk factors associated with postoperative sore throat were identified. They were female gender, age between 30-39, surgical sites within the oral or nasal cavity, or around the neck, use of nitrous oxide during anesthesia, and duration of anesthesia longer than 2 hours.
Conclusions: Five risk factors related to postoperative sore throat were identified in our study.