title: Postoperative sore throat: incidence, risk factors, and outcome.
abstract: 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).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand. annop.pir@mahidol.ac.th
authors.forename: Annop
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Piriyapatsom
authors.forename: Sukanya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dej-Arkom
authors.forename: Thitima
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Chinachoti
authors.forename: Jarunee
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rakkarnngan
authors.forename: Pensiri
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Srishewachart
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000768:Anesthesia, General; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010612:Pharyngitis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012307:Risk Factors