Postoperative sore throat and hoarseness following tracheal intubation using air or saline to inflate the cuff - A randomized controlled trial

Sore throat and hoarseness following tracheal intubation is common. The aetiology may include high tracheal cuff pressures. We performed a double-blind randomized controlled trial in 126 intubated patients to compare the incidence and severity of sore throat and hoarseness following inflation of the cliff using air or saline. Intra-cuff pressures were compared to assess any change due to inward diffusion of nitrous ox-ide. The incidence of significant sore throat and/or hoarseness overall was 15.0%. There was no statistically significant difference between the groups (air 15.9%, saline 14.5%), In the air group mean intra-cuff pressure increased significantly (start 14.0 mmHg, end 40.9 mmHg), while in the saline group there was no significant increase (start 12.7 mmHg, end 14.6 mmHg). The substitution of saline I reliably results ill sustained low intra-cuff pressure but high tracheal cuff pressure is not an important factor in the development of sore throat or hoarseness postoperatively within the pressure range and duration of operation studied.