41 - Mallampatti grading

*The Mallampati classification is a commonly used means of preoperatively predicting a difficult endotracheal intubation. As the grade increases, the difficulty in intubating the patient also increases.
*A reduced thyromental distance combined with a mallampati class III or IV predicts 80% of difficult intubations.
*The patient is examined in a sitting position, with the head in the neutral position and mouth opened to allow the examination of pharynx. The patient is asked to open his/her mouth as wide as possible and protrude the tongue fully.

Qbase Anaesthesia 4: MCQs for the Primary FRCA