title: [Orotracheal intubation difficulty with lighted stylet: correlation of body mass index and neck circumference].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the difficulty of intubation with a lighted stylet by correlating the body mass index (BMI) with the neck or cervical circumference (CC), and to establish the values of BMI and CC that could help identify a possible difficult intubation with this device.
  
  
  METHODS
  An observational and correlational study was performed on selected patients by consecutive sampling who were intubated using the lighted stylet. Variables such as age, gender, ASA physical status, BMI, CC, transillumination intensity, Cormack-Lehane grade, and Mallampati scores, were recorded. Multivariable analyses were performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  103 patients were included. The mean age of the patients was 39.0 ± 16.6 years, BMI 28.6 ± 6.8 kg/m² (33% obese and 29,1% overweight), CC 37.8 ± 4.6 cm. Those patients who presented difficulty for intubation had a CC 39.9 ± 5.2 cm (P ≤ 0.05), and a BMI 33.8 ± 7.6 kg/m² (P = 0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A lineal correlation exists between a BMI above 33 kg/m² and/or a CC greater than 40 cm and a difficult intubation using lighted stylet. Another method other than transillumination is recommended for orotracheal intubation in a patient with both characteristics.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Anestesiología, Instituto Venezolano Seguro Social, Hospital Dr. Montezuma Ginnari, Valera, Venezuela. ckcase@gmail.com
authors.forename: C K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Casé León
authors.forename: Z S
authors.initials: ZS
authors.lastname: Hachoue Saliba
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000402:Airway Obstruction; D000768:Anesthesia, General; D000886:Anthropometry; D015992:Body Mass Index; D049628:Body Size; D017558:Elective Surgical Procedures; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal / Q000295:instrumentation*; D020704:Laryngoscopes; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009333:Neck / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D014172:Transillumination / Q000295:instrumentation*; D055815:Young Adult