CLINICAL ASSESSMENT OF MODIFIED MALLAMPATI SCORE TO PREDICT DIFFICULT INTUBATION AND ITS CORRELATION WITH CORMACK LEHANE GRADING

Aiswarya Ashok; Priya B.Naik

Volume : VII, Issue : XII, December - 2018

CLINICAL ASSESSMENT OF MODIFIED MALLAMPATI SCORE TO PREDICT DIFFICULT INTUBATION AND ITS CORRELATION WITH CORMACK LEHANE GRADING

Aiswarya Ashok, Priya B. Naik

Abstract :

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Difficult intubation is a major concern for the anesthesiologist and becomes more serious when it is unexpected. The preoperative assessment for recognition of difficult airway in advance is the best method of preventing damage caused by the inability to maintain the airway. The aim of this study was to correlate primarily the Mallampati modified score with laryngoscopic view in order to predict a difficult airway. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 80 adult patients of age group 18–75 years of either sex of ASA Class I and II, requiring endotracheal intubation were included in this study. Preclinical evaluation was carried out by Modified Mallampati test and were then correlated with laryngoscopic grading as per Cormack and Lehane. Chi–square test and Kappa statistics were applied for the statistical analysis. RESULTS: It was observed that 10% of the difficult intubations were predicted to be easy. There was no case of difficult intubation which was predicted as difficult. 10% cases were easy intubations which were predicted to be difficult. CONCLUSION: Mallampati classification did not correlate grade– to–grade with Cormack & Lehane grading on direct laryngoscopy