Mallampati score

The Mallampati score, or Mallampati classification, named after the Indian anaesthesiologist Seshagiri Mallampati, is used to predict the ease of endotracheal intubation.[1] The test comprises a visual assessment of the distance from the tongue base to the roof of the mouth, and therefore the amount of space in which there is to work. It is an indirect way of assessing how difficult an intubation will be; this is more definitively scored using the Cormack–Lehane classification system, which describes what is actually seen using direct laryngoscopy during the intubation process itself. A high Mallampati score (class 3 or 4) is associated with more difficult intubation as well as a higher incidence of sleep apnea.[2]

  1. ^ Mallampati SR, Gatt SP, Gugino LD, Desai SP, Waraksa B, Freiberger D, Liu PL (July 1985). "A clinical sign to predict difficult tracheal intubation: a prospective study". Canadian Anaesthetists' Society Journal. 32 (4): 429–434. doi:10.1007/BF03011357. PMID 4027773.
  2. ^ Nuckton TJ, Glidden DV, Browner WS, Claman DM (July 2006). "Physical examination: Mallampati score as an independent predictor of obstructive sleep apnea". Sleep. 29 (7): 903–908. doi:10.1093/sleep/29.7.903. PMID 16895257.
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