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. 2021 Jul 3;21:76. doi: 10.1186/s12873-021-00472-w

Table 3.

The ultrasonography indicators and main result extracted for predict of difficult intubation

Indicators list in study Presented in Main result (Mean difference, accuracy, and other results)
Distance from skin to epiglottis Skin to epiglottis distance (cm) Daggupati, H.; 2020 Mean (95% CI): In Diff = 2.17 (2.12–2.22) vs Easy = 1.68 (1.65–1.70); P-value< 0.001
Neck soft tissue from skin to epiglottis (DSE) (cm) Martínez-García, A.;2020

Mean (SD): In Diff = 2.90 (0.46) vs Easy = 2.32 (0.54); P-value = 0.001

AUC = 0.79 (95%CI: 0.62–0.89), P = 0.001; In cut-off = UK: Sensitivity =93.75%، Specificity =50.11%، PPV =46.88%، NPV =94.44%

In cut-off = 3: Sensitivity = 56.3% (95% CI: 28.8–83.7), Specificity = 88.2% (95% CI: 75.9–100), PPV = 69.2% (95% CI: 40.3–98.2), NPV = 81.1% (95% CI: 67.1–95.1)

Distance from skin to epiglottis (DSEM) Koundal, V.;2019

Mean (SD): In CL1 = 1.42 (0.33), CL2 = 1.46 (0.36), CL3 = 1.89 (0.36), CL4 = 1.96 (0.21); P-value< 0.001

AUC = 0.819 (95%CI: 0.758–0.880), In cut-off = 1.615: Sensitivity = 89.7%, Specificity = 64.8%, PPV = 50.98%, NPV = 93.88%

Pre-epiglottic Soft tissue thickness (mm) Petrișor, C.; 2018 Mean (SD): In Diff = 15.75 (30.73) vs Easy = 17.39 (15.15); P-value = 0.6
Distance from skin to epiglottis (DSE) (mm) Pinto, J.; 2016 Mean (SD): In Diff = 28.25 (4.43) vs Easy = 23.32 (3.86); P-value = 0.000
At thyrohyoid membrane level, the distance from skin to epiglottis midway (DSEM) (cm) Wu, J.; 2014

Mean (SD): In Diff = 2.39 (0.34) vs Easy = 1.49 (0.39); P-value< 0.001

AUC = 0.90 (95% CI: 0.85–0.94); P-value< 0.001

mDSE (median distance from skin to epiglottis), (cm) Falcetta, S.; 2018 AUC = 0.906 (95% CI: 0.86–0.93), In cut-off = 2.54: Sensitivity = 82.0%, Specificity = 91.0%
Skin to epiglottis Parameswari, A.; 2017 In cut-off = UK: Sensitivity = 75.0%, Specificity = 63.6%, PPV = 17.5, NPV = 96.2
Thickness of anterior neck soft tissue at Vocal cords Anterior neck thicknesses at the Vocal cords Fulkerson, J.S.;2019 Mean (SD): In Diff = 0.73 (0.15) vs Easy = 0.70 (0.23); P-value = 0.631
Distance from skin to glottis Martínez-García, A.;2020

Mean (SD): In Diff = 1.05 (0.25) vs Easy = 1.07 (0.33); P-value = 0.749

AUC = 0.47 (95%CI: 0.31–0.64), P = 0.755; In cut-off = UK: Sensitivity =81.25%، Specificity =23.53%، PPV =33.33%، NPV =72.73%

Thickness of anterior neck soft tissue at Vocal cords Adhikari, S.; 2011 No-significant difference in Diff and Easy
Neck soft tissue, from the skin to the anterior aspect of the trachea at the vocal cords anterior to the thyroid cartilage Komatsu, R.; 2007

Mean (SD): In Diff = 20.4 (3.0) vs Easy = 22.3 (3.8); P-value = 0.049

OR = 0.16 (0.02–1.75); P-value = 0.134

Distance from the skin to the anterior aspect of the trachea was measured at vocal cords (zone 1) Yilmaz, C.; 2018

Mean (SD): In Diff = 1.21 (0.28) vs Easy = 1.32 (0.30); P-value = 0.260

OR = 0.204 (95% CI: 0.006–7.34; P-value = 0.385

At anterior commissure level, the minimal distance from skin to anterior commissure (DSAC) Wu, J.; 2014

Mean (SD): In Diff = 1.30 (0.31) vs Easy = 0.92 (0.20); P-value< 0.001

AUC = 0.85 (95% CI: 0.79–0.89); P-value< 0.001

The distance from the skin to the anterior aspect of the trachea was measured at vocal cords (zone 1) Ezri, T.; 2003 Mean (SD): In Diff 28.0 (2.7) vs Easy 17.5 (1.8); P-value< 0.001
mVC (the median distance from the skin to the apex of the vocal cords), Falcetta, S.; 2018 AUC = 0.54 (95% CI:0.48–0.60), Sensitivity =53, Specificity =66
Anterior neck soft tissue thickness at the level of the vocal cords (ANS-VC) Reddy, P.B.; 2016 Mean (SD): In CL1 = 0.25 (0.11), Range = 0.11–0.53/ CL2 = 0.25 (0.12), Range = 0.07–0.67/ CL3 = 0.35 (0.18), Range = 0.18–0.76; P-value = 0.014
Anterior neck soft tissue at the of the hyoid bone Neck soft tissue from skin to hyoid (DSH) (cm) Martínez-García, A.;2020

Mean (SD): In Diff = 1.35 (0.21) vs Easy = 1.30 (0.31); P-value = 0.580

AUC = 0.57 (95%CI: 0.40–0.73); P < 0.001; In cut-off = UK: Sensitivity =75.01%، Specificity =41.18%، PPV =37.5%، NPV =77.78%

Anterior neck thicknesses at the hyoid Bone (HB) (cm) Fulkerson, J.S.;2019 Mean (SD): In Diff = 0.93 (0.22) vs Easy = 0.97 (0.31); P-value = 0.681
Thickness of anterior soft tissue neck at the level of hyoid bone (DSHB) Koundal, V.;2019

Mean (SD): In CL1 = 0.84 (0.16), CL2 = 0.85 (0.17), CL3 = 0.98 (0.23), CL4 = 1.15 (0.18); P-value< 0.001

AUC = 0.680 (95%CI: 0.594–0.767), In cut-off = 0.99: Sensitivity = 48.0%, Specificity = 82.0%, PPV = 52.83%, NPV = 79.59%

Distance from skin to hyoid bone (SHB) in neutral Yadav, N.K.;2019

Mean (SD): In Diff = 0.74 (0.23) vs Easy = 0.56 (0.19); P-value = 0.001

AUC = 0.72 (95%CI: 0.61–0.82), In cut-off = 0.66: Sensitivity = 68.0%, Specificity = 69.0%

Anterior neck soft tissue at the of the hyoid bone Adhikari, S.; 2011 Mean (CI 95%): In Diff = 1.69 cm (1.19–2.19) vs Easy = 1.37 (1.27–1.46); P-value< 0.05
At hyoid bone level, the minimal distance from the hyoid bone to skin surface (DSHB) (cm) Wu, J.; 2014

Mean (SD): In Diff = 1.51 (0.27) vs Easy = 0.98 (0.26); P-value< 0.001

AUC = 0.92 (95%CI: 0.87–0.95); P < 0.001

Skin to hyoid distance Parameswari, A.; 2017 In cut-off = UK: Sensitivity = 58.3%, Specificity = 56.8%, PPV = 12.1, NPV = 93.1
Anterior neck soft tissue thickness at the level of the hyoid (ANS-Hyoid) Reddy, P.B.; 2016 Mean (SD): In CL1 = 0.36 (0.20), Range = 0.12–0.98/ CL2 = 0.35 (0.14), Range = 0.15–0.69/ CL3 = 0.38 (0.16), Range = 0.18–0.68; P-value = 0.857
Hyomental distance (HMD) with neck extended HMD distance between the hyoid bone and the posterior border of the symphisis menti: maximum hyperextended Petrișor, C.; 2018 Mean (SD): In Diff 4.9 (0.22) vs Easy 5.8 (0.42); P-value = 0.1
Hyomental distance (HMD) with neck extended (cm) Fulkerson, J.S.;2019 Mean (SD): In Diff = 5.10 (0.65) vs Easy = 5.28 (0.69); P-value = 0.341
Mentohyoid distance Daggupati, H.; 2020 Mean (95% CI): In Diff = 3.70 (3.5–3.9) vs Easy = 4.72 (4.63–4.90); P-value = 0.341
Hyomental distance ratio Hyomental distance ratio (HMDR) (cm) Koundal, V.;2019

Mean (SD): In CL1 = 1.12 (0.03), CL2 = 1.11 (0.03), CL3 = 1.09 (0.01), CL4 = 1.04 (0.02); P-value< 0.001

AUC = 0.762 (95%CI: 0.686–0.838), In cut-off = 1.087: Sensitivity = 65.0%, Specificity = 77.0%, PPV = 54.29%, NPV = 84.62%

HMDR (the ratio between the HMD in the maximum hyperextended position to that in the neutral position) Petrișor, C.; 2018 Mean (SD): In Diff 1.21 (0.0005) vs Easy 1.34 (0.1); P-value = 0.0002
Hyomental distance ratio (HMDR) (cm) Wojtczak, J.A.; 2011 Mean (SD): In Diff 1.02 (0.02) vs Easy 1.14 (0.02); P-value< 0.001
Hyomental distance ratio (HMDR), cm Rana, S.; 2018

Mean (SD): In CL1 = 1.11 (0.35), CL2 = 1.12 (0.29), CL3 = 1.07 (0.39), CL4 = 1.04 (0.01); P-value< 0.001

AUC = 0.871, In cut-off = 1.085: Sensitivity = 75.0%, Specificity = 85.3%, PPV = 65.6%, NPV = 90.1%

Hyomental distance ratio (HMDR) (cm) Andruszkiewicz, P.; 2016

Mean (SD): In Diff = 1.07 (0.08) vs Easy = 1.12 (0.07); P-value = 0.0022

AUC = 0.710, P-value = 0.0036; In cut-off = UK: Sensitivity = 42.9%, Specificity = 96.0%, PPV = 56.2%, NPV = 93.4%;

Pre-E/EVC Pre-E/E-VC Koundal, V.;2019

Mean (SD): In CL1 = 1.22 (0.44), CL2 = 0.56 (0.27), CL3 = 1.91 (0.25), CL4 = 2.25 (0.31); P-value< 0.001

AUC = 0.871 (95%CI: 0.820–0.923), In cut-off = 1.875: Sensitivity = 82.8%, Specificity = 83.8%, PPV = 67.61%, NPV = 92.25%

Pre-E/EVC (depth of the pre-epiglottic space/ the distance from the epiglottis to the midpoint of the distance between the vocal cords) Rana, S.; 2018

Mean (SD): In CL1 = 1.33 (0.335), CL2 = 1.62 (0.264), CL3 = 1.87 (0.243), CL4 = 2.22 (0.29); P-value< 0.001

AUC = 0.868, In cut-off = 1.77: Sensitivity = 82.0%, Specificity = 80.0%, PPV = 60.5%, NPV = 92.3%

Pre-E/E-VC Reddy, P.B.; 2016 Mean (SD): In CL1 = 1.09 (0.38), Range = 0.41–2.22/ CL2 = 1.28 (0.37), Range = 0.58–2.02/ CL3 = 1.29 (0.44), Range = 0.76–2.46; P-value = 0.044
Ratio of Pre-Epiglottis space and Epiglottis-to-Vocal cords distances (Pre-E/E-VC) Gupta, D.; 2013 Mean (SD): In CL1 = 0.89 (0.61), CL2 = 1.65 (0.81), CL3 = 2.54 (0.98), CL4 = No data yet, P-value = UK
Anterior neck soft tissue at thyroid isthmus Thickness of anterior neck soft tissue at thyroid isthmus Adhikari, S.; 2011 No-significant difference in Diff and Easy
Distance from the skin to the anterior aspect of the trachea was measured thyroid isthmus Yilmaz, C.; 2018

Mean (SD): In Diff = 1.55 (0.32) vs Easy = 1.78 (0.39); P-value = 0.130

OR = 0.144 (95% CI: 0.008–2.56); P-value = 0.187

The distance from the skin to the anterior aspect of the trachea was measured at thyroid isthmus (zone 2) Ezri, T.; 2003 Mean (SD): In Diff = 25.0 (1.3) vs Easy = 22.8 (5.0); P-value = 0.16
Anterior neck soft tissue at suprasternal notch Thickness of anterior neck soft tissue at Suprasternal notch Adhikari, S.; 2011 No-significant difference in Diff and Easy
Distance from the skin to the anterior aspect of the trachea was measured at suprasternal notch (zone 3) Yilmaz, C.; 2018

Mean (SD): In Diff = 2.26 (0.55) vs Easy = 2.32 (0.52); P-value = 0.875

OR = 0.924 (95% CI: 0.15–5.56); P-value = 0.931

The distance from the skin to the anterior aspect of the trachea was measured at suprasternal notch (zone 3) Ezri, T.; 2003 Mean (SD): In Diff = 33.0 (4.3) vs Easy = 27.4 (6.6); P-value = 0.013
Tongue volume Tongue volume (cm3) Wojtczak, J.A.; 2011 Mean (SD): In Diff = 137.67 (29.28) vs Easy = 168.33 (34.22); P-value = 0.126
Volume of tongue, cm3 Parameswari, A.; 2017 In cut-off = 100: Sensitivity = 66.7%, Specificity = 62.7%, PPV = 15.4%, NPV = 94.6%
Tongue volume Andruszkiewicz, P.; 2016

Mean (SD): In Diff = 121.7 (27.1) vs Easy = 111.2 (22.1); P-value = 0.0415

AUC = 0.626, P-value = 0.0456; In cut-off = UK: Sensitivity = 9.1%, Specificity = 97.7%, PPV = 33.3%, NPV = 89.6%;

Floor of the mouth muscle volumes Floor of the mouth muscle volumes (MVFM, muscle volume of the floor of the mouth (cm3)) Wojtczak, J.A.; 2011 Mean (SD): In Diff = 34.87 (11.95) vs Easy = 37.72 (13.17); P-value = 0.703
Volume of floor of mouth Parameswari, A.; 2017 In cut-off = UK: Sensitivity = 50.0%, Specificity = 55.9%, PPV = 10.3, NPV = 91.7
floor of the mouth muscle volume (FMMV) (cm3) Andruszkiewicz, P.; 2016

Mean (SD): In Diff = 20.10 (5.39) vs Easy = 19.32 (4.15); P-value = 0.4224

AUC = 0.559, P-value = 0.421; In cut-off = UK: Sensitivity = 31.7%, Specificity = 71.8%, PPV = 12.3%, NPV = 89.4%

Hyomental distance in the head positions Hyomental distance in the head positions (HMDE) (mm) Wojtczak, J.A.; 2011 Mean (SD): In Diff = 52.65 (5.89) vs Easy = 65.65 (4.17); P-value = 0.001
hyomental distance in extension positions (HMDE) (cm) Andruszkiewicz, P.; 2016

Mean (SD): In Diff = 4.28 (0.64) vs Easy = 4.82 (0.46); P-value = 0.0009

AUC = 0.758, P-value< 0.0001; In cut-off = UK: Sensitivity = 38.1%, Specificity = 97.7%, PPV = 66.7%, NPV = 93.0%

Hyomental distance in the neutral positions Hyomental distance in the neutral positions (HMDN) Wojtczak, J.A.; 2011 Mean (SD): In Diff = 51.33 (5.36) vs Easy = 57.55 (4.36); P-value = 0.052
Hyomental distance in neutral positions HMDN (cm), Andruszkiewicz, P.; 2016

Mean (SD): In Diff = 3.99 (0.56) vs Easy = 4.32 (0.42); P-value = 0.0014

AUC = 0.660, P-value = 0.002; In cut-off = UK: Sensitivity = 28.6%, Specificity = 94.4%, PPV = 37.5%, NPV = 91.8%

Length of the thyrohyoid membrane Length of the thyrohyoid membrane Wang, L.;2019

Mean (SD): In Diff = 1.83 (0.07) vs Easy = 2.07 (0.03); P-value< 0.001

Odds ratio (OR) = 0.22 (95% CI: 0.09–0.51)

Thyrohyoid distance Abraham, S.; 2018 Mean (SD): In Diff = 1.62 (0.44) vs Easy = 1.71 (0.62); P-value = 0.563
Tongue thickness Tongue thickness (TT) (mm) Xu, L.;2019

Mean (SD): In Diff = 61.4 (2.8) vs Easy = 54.6 (3.5); P-value< 0.001

AUC = 0.93 (95%CI: 0.88–0.98); In cut-off > 58.65 mm: Sensitivity = 0.85 (95% CI: 0.73–0.97), Specificity = 0.91 (95% CI: 0.85–0.98), PPV = 0.83 (95% CI: 0.71–0.98), NPV = 0.92 (95% CI: 0.86–0.98)

Tongue thickness Yadav, N.K.;2019

Median (IQR): In Diff = 6.1 (1.04) vs Easy = 5.30 (1.02); P-value = 0.001

AUC = 0.72 (95%CI: 0.62–0.81), In cut-off = UK: Sensitivity = 71.0%, Specificity = 72.0%

Tongue thickness (cm) Yao, W.; 2017 (a)

Mean (SD): In Diff = 6.4 (0.4) vs Easy = 5.9 (0.5); P-value< 0.001

AUC = 0.78 (95%CI: 0.77–0.80); In cut-off > 6.1 cm: Sensitivity = 0.75 (95% CI: 0.60–0.86), Specificity = 0.72 (95% CI: 0.70–0.74), PPV = 0.06 (95% CI: 0.04–0.08), NPV = 0.99 (95% CI: 0.99–1.0)

Odds ratio (OR) in cut-off = 7.7 (95%CI: 3.9–16)

Condylar translation Condylar translation (CT) (mm) Xu, L.;2019

Mean (SD): In Diff = 10.5 (2.0) vs Easy = 12.8 (2.5); P-value< 0.001

AUC = 0.77 (95%CI: 0.67–0.86); In cut-off < 11.05 mm: Sensitivity = 0.70 (95% CI: 0.55–0.89), Specificity = 0.81 (95% CI: 0.72–0.90), PPV = 0.65 (95% CI: 0.50–0.80), NPV = 0.84 (95% CI: 0.76–0.93)

Mandibular condylar mobility (mm) Yao, W.; 2017 (b)

Mean (SD): In Diff = 9.2 (1.7) vs Easy = 13.7 (2.5); P-value< 0.001

In Cut-off limited condylar translation: Sensitivity = 0.81 (99% CI: 0.6–0.95), Specificity = 0.91 (99% CI: 0.87–0.94), PPV = 0.45 (99% CI: 0.29–0.62), NPV = 0.98 (99% CI: 0.96–1)

Odds ratio (OR) in limited condylar translation = 40.4 (CI:13.5–121.4)

Anterior neck soft tissue at the of the Thyrohyoid membrane Anterior neck soft tissue at the of the Thyrohyoid membrane Adhikari, S.; 2011 Mean (95% CI): In Diff = 3.47 (2.88–4.07) vs Easy = 2.37 (2.29–2.44); P-value< 0.05
Anterior neck thicknesses at the Thyrohyoid Membrane (THM) Fulkerson, J.S.;2019 Mean (SD): In Diff = 2.0 (0.47) vs Easy = 2.14 (0.48); P-value = 0.304
Distance from skin to the thyrohyoid membrane (STM) in neutral Yadav, N.K.;2019

Mean (SD): In Diff = 1.58 (0.34) vs Easy = 1.93 (0.42); P-value< 0.001

AUC = 0.73 (95%CI: 0.63–0.83), In cut-off = 2.03: Sensitivity = 65.0%, Specificity = 69.0%

HMD distance between the hyoid bone and the posterior border of the symphisis menti HMD distance between the hyoid bone and the posterior border of the symphisis menti: neutral Petrișor, C.; 2018 Mean (SD): In Diff 4.04 (0.1) vs Easy 4.34 (0.32); P-value = 0.31
HMD distance between the hyoid bone and the posterior border of the symphisis menti: ramped Petrișor, C.; 2018 Mean (SD): In Diff 4.53 (0.1) vs Easy 5.17 (0.28); P-value = 0.03
HMDR (the ratio between the HMD in the ramped position to that in neutral position) Petrișor, C.; 2018 Mean (SD): In Diff 1.12 (0.001) vs Easy 1.2 (0.1); P-value = 0.02
Other indicators
1 Ratios of tongue thickness to thyromental distance Yao, W.; 2017 (a)

Mean (SD): In Diff = 0.94 (0.10) vs Easy = 0.80 (0.11); P-value< 0.001

AUC = 0.86 (95% CI: 0.84–0.87); In cut-off > 0.87: Sensitivity = 0.84 (95% CI: 0.71–0.93), Specificity = 0.79 (95% CI: 0.77–0.81), PPV = 0.09 (95% CI: 0.06–0.11), NPV = 1.0 (95% CI: 0.99–1.0)

Odds ratio (OR) in cut-off = 20 (95% CI: 9.6–44.0)

2 Tongue cross-sectional area (TCSA) (cm2) Andruszkiewicz, P.; 2016

Mean (SD): In Diff = 23.1 (3.57) vs Easy = 21.6 (3.09); P-value = 0.033

AUC = 0.622, P-value = 0.037; In cut-off = UK: Sensitivity = 9.1%, Specificity = 97.2%, PPV = 28.6%, NPV = 94.5%

3 Width of the tongue (cm) Wang, L.;2019 Mean (SD): In Diff = 3.02 (0.05) vs Easy = 2.81 (0.03); P-value< 0.001
4 DSH + DSE Martínez-García, A.;2020

Mean (SD): In Diff = 4.25 (0.45) vs Easy = 3.62 (0.77); P-value = 0.001

AUC = 0.75 (95%CI: 0.62–0.89), P = 0.001; In cut-off = UK: Sensitivity =81.25%، Specificity =70.59%، PPV =56.52%، NPV =88.89%

In cut-off = 4.5: Sensitivity = 37.5% (95% CI: 10.7–64.4), Specificity = 82.4% (95% CI: 68.1–96.6), PPV = 50.0% (95% CI: 17.5–82.5), NPV = 73.7% (95% CI: 58.2–89.0)

5 DSE – DSG Martínez-García, A.;2020

Mean (SD): In Diff = 1.83 (0.54) vs Easy = 1.24 (0.46); P-value = 0.001

AUC = 0.82 (95%CI: 0.68–0.96), P = 0.001; In cut-off = UK: Sensitivity =81.25%، Specificity =52.94%، PPV =44.83%، NPV =85.71%

In cut-off = 1.9: Sensitivity = 68.8% (95% CI: 42.9–94.6), Specificity = 91.2% (95% CI: 80.2–100), PPV = 78.6% (95% CI: 53.5–100), NPV = 86.1% (95% CI: 73.4–98.8)

6 Thickness of the base of the tongue Wang, L.;2019

Mean (SD): In Diff = 2.85 (0.09) vs Easy = 2.56 (0.04); P-value = 0.002

Odds ratio (OR) = 2.51 (95% CI: 1.38–4.55)

7 Angle between the epiglottis and glottis (°) Wang, L.; 2019

Mean (SD): In Diff = 54.97 (4.93) vs Easy = 47.49 (4.17); P-value< 0.001

Odds ratio (OR) = 0.62 (95% CI: 0.54–0.71)

AUC = 0.902 (95%CI: 0.846–0.957), In cut-off = 50°: Sensitivity = 81.0%, Specificity = 89.0

8 Distance from skin to hyoid bone (SHB) in sniffing Yadav, N.K.; 2019

Mean (SD): In Diff = 0.53 (0.20) vs Easy = 0.73 (0.23); P-value< 0.001

AUC = 0.73 (95%CI: 0.63–0.84), In cut-off = 0.77: Sensitivity = 68.0%, Specificity = 72.0%

9 Distance from skin to the thyrohyoid membrane (STM) in sniffing Yadav, N.K.; 2019

Mean (SD): In Diff = 1.54 (0.35) vs Easy = 1.84 (0.39); P-value< 0.001

AUC = 0.70 (95%CI: 0.60–0.81), In cut-off = 1.9: Sensitivity = 65.0%, Specificity = 63.0%

10 Tongue width (TW) (cm) Andruszkiewicz, P.; 2016

Mean (SD): In Diff = 5.21 (0.45) vs Easy = 5.14 (0.46); P-value = 0.485

AUC = 0.589, P-value = 0.483; In cut-off = UK: Sensitivity = 9.1%, Specificity = 76.3%, PPV = 4.5%, NPV = 87.1%

11 Tongue thickness-to-oral cavity height ratio (TT/OCH) Andruszkiewicz, P.; 2016

Mean (SD): In Diff = 0.84 (0.04) vs Easy = 0.83 (0.04); P-value = 0.347

AUC = 0.513, P-value = 0.339; In cut-off = UK: Sensitivity = 31.8%, Specificity = 68.4%, PPV = 11.1%, NPV = 89.0%

12 Floor of the mouth muscle Cross-sectional area (FFM CSA) (cm2) Andruszkiewicz, P.; 2016

Mean (SD): In Diff = 4.75 (1.04) vs Easy = 4.48 (0.80); P-value = 0.1464

AUC = 0.571, P-value = 0.148 In cut-off = UK: Sensitivity = 9.1%, Specificity = 93.8%, PPV = 15.4%, NPV = 89.2%

13 Ratio of the Depth of the pre-epiglottic space (Pre-E) to the distance (cm) Reddy, P.B.; 2016 Mean (SD): In CL1 = 0.98 (0.25), Range = 0.43–0.74/ CL2 = 1.08 (0.21), Range = 0.59–1.66/ CL3 = 1.04 (0.22), Range = 0.59–1.4; P-value = 0.134
14 Distance from the epiglottis to the mid-point of the distance between the vocal cords (E-VC) (cm) Reddy, P.B.; 2016 Mean (SD): In CL1 = 0.96 (0.30), Range = 0.42–1.72/ CL2 = 0.89 (0.23), Range = 0.57–1.58/ CL3 = 0.84 (0.19), Range = 0.57–1.25; P-value = 0.214
15 Hyomental distance (HMD) to Hyoid bone (HB) ratio Fulkerson, J.S.;2019 Mean (SD): In Diff = 5.05 (1.73) vs Easy = 6.12 (2.7); P-value = 0.139
16 Hyomental distance to Thyrohyoid membrane (THM) ratio Fulkerson, J.S.;2019 Mean (SD): In Diff = 2.55 (1.03) vs Easy = 2.62 (0.85); P-value = 0.749
17 Hyomental distance to vocal cords (VC) ratio Fulkerson, J.S.;2019 Mean (SD): In Diff = 6.87 (2.62) vs Easy = 8.25 (2.92); P-value = 0.080
18 Hyomental distance to Thyrohyoid membrane (THM) ratio Fulkerson, J.S.;2019 Mean (SD): In Diff = 0.49 (0.14) vs Easy = 0.47 (0.17); P-value = 0.606
19 Hyoid bone to vocal cords ratio Fulkerson, J.S.;2019 Mean (SD): In Diff = 1.37 (0.46) vs Easy = 1.47 (0.59); P-value = 0.482
20 Thyrohyoid membrane to vocal cords ratio Fulkerson, J.S.;2019 Mean (SD): In Diff = 2.85 (0.82) vs Easy = 3.3 (1.24); P-value = 0.174
21 Thickness of the lateral pharyngeal Wang, L.; 2019

Mean (SD): In Diff = 0.91 (0.04) vs Easy = 0.94 (0.02); P-value = 0.432

Odds ratio (OR) = 2.51 (95% CI: 1.38–4.55)

22 Thickness of submental region Abraham, S.; 2018 Mean (SD): In Diff = 1.31 (0.27) vs Easy = 1.11 (0.32); P-value = 0.057
23 Epiglottis to hyoid bone distance Abraham, S.; 2018 Mean (SD): In Diff = 1.87 (0.36) vs Easy = 1.8 (0.54); P-value = 0.695
24 Skin pad thickness to thyroid cartilage Abraham, S.; 2018 Mean (SD): In Diff = 1.29 (0.48) vs Easy = 1.08 (0.49); P-value = 0.191
25 Ratio of the pre-epiglottis space distance and the distance between epiglottis and vocal folds (Pre-E/aVF) Chan, S.M.M.; 2018 AUC = 0.648, P-value = 0.044; In cut-off > 1: Sensitivity = 79.5%, Specificity = 39.2%, PPV = 40.8%, NPV = 78.4%, PLR = 1.31, NLR = 0.52;
26 Pre-epiglottic area (PEA), cm2 Falcetta, S.; 2018 AUC = 0.93 (95% CI: 0.89–0.95); In cut-off = 5.04: Sensitivity = 85%, Specificity = 88%
27 Ability to view the hyoid bone in sublingual ultrasound Hui, C.M.; 2014

Number (%): In Dif.: not seen = 8 (72.7), seen = 3 (27.3) vs Easy: not seen = 3 (3.4), seen = 86 (96.6); P-value< 0.001

Sensitivity = 70.0%, Specificity = 97.0%, PLR = 21.6, NLR = 0.28

28 Base of the tongue Adhikari, S.; 2011 No-significant difference

AUC Area under the curve of ROC, BMI Body mass index, CL Cormack-Lehane grade, CI Confidence interval, Diff Difficult intubation group, F Female, M male, NPV Negative predictive value, NLR Negative likelihood ratio, OR Odds ratio, PPV Positive predictive value, PLR Positive likelihood, SD Standard deviation, UK Un-Known