The Effect of Endotracheal Tube Size on Post-extubation Sore-Throat and Hoarseness in Patients Undergoing Laparoscopic Surgeries: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Quantitative and Qualitative Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Anesthesiology, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

2 Clinical Research Development Unit, Ghaem Hospital, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

10.22038/ebcj.2025.87957.3129

Abstract

Background: By analyzing intubation techniques in a specific population, it evaluates whether using a smaller tube in laparoscopic surgery can reduce complications compared to standard tube sizes.
Aim: This study evaluated the impact of tracheal tube size on post-intubation sore throat and hoarseness.
Method: In this clinical trial at Ghaem and Imam Reza hospitals in Mashhad, Iran, patients were randomly assigned to an intervention group (6.5mm for males, 6mm for females) or a control group (7.5mm for males, 7mm for females). We monitored the incidence of sore throat and hoarseness at 1-, 6-, and 24-hours post-surgery.
Results: A total of 160 patients (average age 45.01 ± 10.33 years) were evaluated. Gender distribution was similar between groups (25.6% female in control, 25% female in intervention group). There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of gender, age, BMI, underlying diseases, duration of surgery, duration of anesthesia, Malampathi score, Cormack-Lehane grade, the use of NG tubes and oral airways, indicating homogeneity. The incidence of hoarseness one hour after surgery was significantly lower in the intervention group (7.5%) compared to the control group (20%), (P<0.05). Additionally, the sore throat at 6 hours post-surgery was significantly lower in the intervention group than in the control group (P<0.05), but at 1 and 24h not significant.
Implications for practice: Using a smaller tracheal tube size reduces the incidence of sore throat and hoarseness after laparoscopic surgery.
Keywords: Tracheal tube size, Tracheal intubation, Postoperative sore throat, Postoperative hoarseness

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Evidence Based Care

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 14 December 2025

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