Application of the upper lip catch test for airway evaluation in edentulous patients: An observational study

Abstract

Background: Application of upper lip catch test (ULCT) for airway evaluation in edentulous patients. Methods: This research is an evaluation of a clinical diagnostic test in edentulous patients prior to operation. Five hundred eighty eight edentulous patients in a referral university hospital, between March 2008 and June 2011 scheduled for elective surgery under general anesthesia were enrolled. Those unable to open the mouth and those with pharyngo-laryngeal pathology were excluded. ULCT was assessed and compared with Cormack-Lehane grading as a gold standard for airway evaluation. Results: A high negative predictive value of 99.4% was a notable finding for the ULCT. The results also showed a high specificity (89.4%), high sensitivity (75.0%) and a high accuracy (89.3%) in a comparatively higher range for the ULCT. Conclusion: The ULCT proved to be a useful predictor for airway assessment in edentulous patients in this setting. Further studies are needed to reconfirm its validity in other ethnic groups.

Keywords

• Airway
• Cormack-Lehane grade
• difficult intubation
• modified Mallampati test
• upper lip catch test