Effect of Head and Neck Positioning on Awake Fiberoptic Intubation in Obese Patients

November 4, 2026 updated by: Amr Raafat Mahmoud Seif, Cairo University

Effect of Head and Neck Positioning on Awake Fiberoptic Intubation in Obese Patients: A Randomized Controlled Study

The aim of the study was the assessment and comparison of the time taken for vocal cord visualization with three different head positions: (conventional sniffing position, ramp position and supine position) in obese patients

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Enrolling by invitation

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Airway management in patients undergoing general anesthesia is a set of actions that result in the creation of a safe and secure airway for ventilation. Failure in airway management and hypoxia can lead to irreversible brain damages within only a few minutes .

The prevalence of obesity is rising worldwide, and this is a challenge for specialists in various fields of medicine. There is an inverse correlation between body weight and pharyngeal space. This association is significant because excess fat in morbid obesity can influence the pharyngeal spaces, and thus, significantly change laryngoscopic grade . Overall, airway management in obese patients can pose numerous challenges as these patients are at a higher risk for difficult airway than normal patients . In fact, patients with morbid obesity have excess fat in the mouth, neck, pharynx, thorax, breast, and abdomen, making access to the airway more problematic in various anesthesia situations such as intubation, tracheostomy, or mask ventilation as compared to normal subjects. In most studies, an increase in neck circumference was associated with difficult intubation, and a neck circumference over 60 cm was linked with a 35% likelihood of difficult intubation. Hence, the possibility of difficult intubation and problems with difficult airways in these patients should be considered, and a solution should be provided. In dealing with difficult airways, assistive devices such as fiberoptic bronchoscope and video-laryngoscope may be used in either awake or anesthetized patients .

Proper positioning before the induction of anesthesia is a key step in successful intubation . Numerous studies have emphasized the significance of head and neck positioning, which can have a significant impact on successful intubation and reduce tracheal injury and post-intubation complications .

The aim of the study was the assessment and comparison of the time taken for vocal cord visualization with three different head positions: (conventional sniffing position, ramp position and supine position) in obese patients

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
60

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Egypt
      • Cairo, Egypt
        • Cairo University

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 60 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age between 18 to 60 years old
  • Body mass index more than 40 kg/m
  • Potentially difficult intubation defined as mallampatti classification greater than two and neck circumference more than 40 cm

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Age younger than 18 and more than 60 years old
  • American Society of Anesthesiologists clinical status is more than four
  • Sever mental disorder (psychotic or consider incapable of understanding the information)
  • Mouth opening is less than 15 mm
  • Poor dental status
  • Contraindication to any drug used in the study
  • patient refusal.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Group (S) Sniffing position

Group (S) Sniffing position : All patients will be explained the procedure on the day of surgery. Intravenous access will be gained a 16 through gauge cannula under local anesthesia. Standard monitoring (pulse oximeter, electrocardiography, non-invasive blood pressure) will attach to the patients. The patient's airway will be anesthetized using aerosolized lignocaine 2%.

The oral and pharyngeal reflexes will be blunted by anesthetizing oral and pharyngeal mucosa with 10% lignocaine spray and gargles.
Procedure: Group (S) Sniffing position

Group (S) : patients will be explained the procedure on the day of surgery. Intravenous access will be gained a 16 through gauge cannula under local anesthesia. Standard monitoring (pulse oximeter, electrocardiography, non-invasive blood pressure) will attach to the patients. The patient's airway will be anesthetized using aerosolized lignocaine 2%.

The oral and pharyngeal reflexes will be blunted by anesthetizing oral and pharyngeal mucosa with 10% lignocaine spray and gargles. The sniffing position will be made by placing 8 cm ring pillow under the patient head so that it will be tilted. The external auditory meatus will be aligned the sterna notch in the horizontal plane. The elevation of the operating and position of the anesthesiologist will be adjusted to ensure that the fiber-optic will be kept straight as it entered the patient's nasal cavity. The appropriate-sized endotracheal tube will be loaded over a 5mm external diameter flexible fiberoptic bronchoscope. Preoxygenation w
Experimental: Group (R) Ramped position

Group (R) Ramped position: patients will be explained the process. Intravenous access will be gained and standard monitoring will be attached to the patients. The patient's airway will be anesthetized. After this, the patients will be helped to assume a ramped position. Three soft pillows will be positioned beneath the patient's head and upper body so that the external auditory meatus will be in a horizontal plane with a sternal notch.
Procedure: Group (R) Ramped position

Group (R) Ramped position On the day of the operation, all Group R patients will be explained the process. Intravenous access will be gained and standard monitoring will be attached to the patients. The patient's airway will be anesthetized. After this, the patients will be helped to assume a ramped position. Three soft pillows will be positioned beneath the patient's head and upper body so that the external auditory meatus will be in a horizontal plane with a sternal notch. The elevation of the operating and position of the anesthesiologist will be adjusted to ensure that the fiber-optic was straight as it entered the patient's nasal cavity. An appropriately sized endotracheal tube will be loaded over a 5mm external diameter flexible fiberoptic bronchoscope. Preoxygenation will be performed with 100% oxygen with tidal volume ventilation for three to five minutes to achieve an end-expiratory oxygen concentration greater than 90%.
Experimental: Group (SU) Supine position

Group (SU) Supine position: All Group SU patients were explained the procedure on the day of surgery. Intravenous access was gained through a 16-gauge cannula under local anesthesia. Standard monitoring (pulse oximeter, electrocardiography, non-invasive blood pressure) was attached to the patients. The patient's airway was anesthetized using aerosolized lignocaine 2%. The oral and pharyngeal reflexes were blunted by anesthetizing oral and pharyngeal mucosa with 10% lignocaine spray and gargles.
Procedure: Group (SU) Supine position

Group (SU) Supine position: patients were explained the procedure on the day of surgery. Intravenous access was gained through a 16-gauge cannula under local anesthesia. Standard monitoring (pulse oximeter, electrocardiography, non-invasive blood pressure) was attached to the patients. The patient's airway was anesthetized using aerosolized lignocaine 2%. The oral and pharyngeal reflexes were blunted by anesthetizing oral and pharyngeal mucosa with 10% lignocaine spray and gargles. The elevation of the operating and position of the anesthesiologist will be adjusted to ensure that the fiber-optic was kept straight as it entered the patient's nasal cavity. The appropriate-sized endotracheal tube will be loaded over a 5mm external diameter flexible fiberoptic bronchoscope. Preoxygenation will be performed with 100% oxygen with tidal volume ventilation for three to five minutes to achieve an end- expiratory oxygen concentration greater than 90%.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
comparison of the time taken for vocal cord visualization
Time Frame: 1 hour

Assessment and comparison of the time taken for vocal cord visualization with three different head positions: (conventional sniffing position, ramp position and supine position) in obese patients.
1 hour

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Cough score for fiberoptic and for intubation
Time Frame: 1 hour

Cough score for fiberoptic and for intubation (score range: 0 = none, 1 = slight, 2 = moderate, 3 = severe)
1 hour

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Cairo University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
September 30, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
September 30, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
September 30, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
November 4, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
November 4, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
November 10, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
November 10, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
November 4, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • AP2609-501-179-213

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

It will be available if it needed

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP
  • ICF

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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