Sex Differences in Predicting Difficult Laryngeal Exposure: Validation and Modification of Predictive Models

Abstract

Objectives/hypothesis: To determine the presence of sex differences in difficult laryngeal exposure and the Laryngoscore, validate the Laryngoscore, mini-Laryngoscore, and Clarysse's model for predicting difficult laryngeal exposure, and modify the Laryngoscore for improved prediction accuracy.

Study design: Retrospective study.

Methods: This study included 153 patients who underwent laryngeal microsurgery at a tertiary laryngology center and university hospital. Patients were evaluated using the 11 items of the Laryngoscore, mini-Laryngoscore, and Clarysse's model to predict difficult laryngeal exposure. Difficult laryngeal exposure was defined as the inability to view the anterior commissure through a rigid laryngoscope under counterpressure to the anterior neck. Descriptive statistics and receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis were used to assess the diagnostic performance of the predictive models and variables, including sex.

Results: The prevalence of difficult laryngeal exposure was significantly higher in men than in women, despite higher Laryngoscore values in females. The Laryngoscore, mini-Laryngoscore, and Clarysse's model demonstrated good diagnostic performance with C-indexes of 0.751, 0.727, and 0.783, respectively. Based on these findings, we proposed a modified Laryngoscore, including treatment history, interincisors gap, upper jaw dental status, thyro-mental distance, degree of neck flexion-extension, and sex, achieving a C-index of 0.835.

Conclusions: Inclusion of sex in the Laryngoscore and related predictive models enhances the accuracy of predicting difficult laryngeal exposure. These findings support the inclusion of sex as a factor in future modifications of these models to improve their predictive performance.

Keywords: Difficult laryngeal exposure—Laryngoscore—Predictive models—Sex differences—Laryngeal microsurgery.