2.2. Study design and population
skin irritation
CONSTRICTION, RECRUITMENT
We conducted a prospective, randomized double-blind study with a blinded evaluator and patients, enrolling 63 patients aged 20 to 70 years and scheduled to undergo general anesthesia with NTI for oral and maxillofacial surgery. Exclusion criteria were those withan obvious nostril constriction (n = 0) and deformities inside the nostrils (n = 0) observed during preoperative CT test taken prior to the surgery, previous surgery around the nostrils (n = 0), and those prone to skin irritation (n = 0). Among the recruited patients, those who did not provide consent (n = 1) were excluded from the study. Therefore, the final study population included 62 patients who were randomly divided into 2 groups, namely the group treated with 3ST (group CONSORT flowchart describing patient recruitment.