• Jingxian Wang, Bin Chai, Yujie Zhang, Lidong Zheng, Pengcheng Geng, and Li Zhan.
• Department of Anesthesiology, Lu'an Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, No.21 West Wanxi Road, Jinan District, Lu'an, 237000, Anhui, China.
• BMC Anesthesiol. 2022 Sep 1; 22 (1): 276.

BackgroundPostoperative sore throat (POST) is one of the main adverse postoperative outcome after tracheal intubation using double-lumen endobronchial tubes (DLTs). The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness and safety of ultrasound (US)-guided block of the internal branch of the superior laryngeal nerve (iSLN) for alleviating POST after intubation of DLTs.MethodsPatients undergoing thoracic surgery between August 2019 and August 2021 were randomized into two groups depending on whether they received US-guided iSLN block immediately after the operation. In the control group, the patients underwent a thoracic surgery under general anesthesia (GA) with DLTs without any special treatment, while the patients in the experimental group received US-guided iSLN block bilaterally with 2 ml of 0.25% ropivacaine on either side immediately after the operation. The primary outcome was the grading of sore throat at three-time points after the operation, i.e., immediate extubation, 2 h after extubation, and 24 h after extubation. Secondary outcomes included the rate of nausea and vomiting, hoarseness, dyspnea, and choking cough after swallowing saliva at 2 h after extubation.ResultsThe incidence and severity of sore throat were significantly lower in the experimental group than the control group at all time intervals (all P < 0.01). The rate of nausea and vomiting, hoarseness, dyspnea, and choking cough after swallow saliva at 2 h after extubation had no statistical difference (all P > 0.05).ConclusionsThe use of US-guided iSLN block can be effectively and safely applied to relieve POST after intubation of DLTs on thoracic surgery.Trial RegistrationThe study protocol was registered at the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ( http://www.chictr.org.cn , NO. ChiCTR2000032188, 22/04/2020).© 2022. The Author(s).

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