Postoperative sore throat: incidence, risk factors, and outcome.

BACKGROUND: Postoperative sore throat (POST) has been one of the most common complaints after anesthesia. In Siriraj Hospital, a high volume of general anesthesia is performed annually, but there was limited data regarding this complaint. OBJECTIVE: To describe the incidence of POST and to determine risk factors associated with the occurrence of POST MATERIAL AND METHOD: Three hundred eighty seven patients were prospectively studied. Demographic data, airway management, and intra-operative data were recorded. Sore throat occurrence and its intensity at postoperative 24 hours as well as patient satisfaction were assessed. RESULTS: The overall incidence of POST was 35.7% (95% confidence interval [CI] 30.9-40. 7%) with the mean intensity of 29.8 +/- 21.2. Operation of the neck was found to be an independent risk factor of 24-hour POST (odds ration [OR] 3.43, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.88-6.25, p < 0.001), whereas in gynecological surgery the occurrence was significantly attenuated (OR 0.49, 95% CI 0.26-0.95, p = 0.035). CONCLUSION: POST was common after general anesthesia. Careful airway management might be the key to prevent this occurrence and to improve the quality of anesthetic care.