anaesthesia emergency-medicine
Mallampati Score (Airway Assessment)
Classifies oropharyngeal visibility to predict difficult intubation. Class III-IV associated with difficult laryngoscopy.
Score interpretation
Class I-II: Easy intubation expected
→ Standard intubation plan; have backup equipment available as routine
Class III: Potentially difficult airway
→ Plan for difficult intubation: video laryngoscopy, bougie, senior anaesthetist; awake FOI if multiple predictors
Class IV or multiple predictors: Difficult airway
→ Awake fibreoptic intubation (AFOI); surgical airway backup plan; DAS guidelines; senior support mandatory
Interpretation bands for the Mallampati. Apply clinical judgement and local guidance.
References
Related
Curated clinical cross-links plus same-class fallbacks.
Calculators
Drugs
- Ketamine (Anaesthesia/Sedation) · Dissociative Anaesthetic (NMDA Receptor Antagonist)
- Morphine (IV/IM — Anaesthesia/ICU) · Strong Opioid Analgesic
- Suxamethonium (Anaesthesia/RSI) · Depolarising Neuromuscular Blocking Agent
- Rocuronium (Anaesthesia/RSI) · Non-Depolarising Neuromuscular Blocking Agent
- Fentanyl (IV — Anaesthesia/ICU) · Opioid Analgesic (Short-Acting)
- Lidocaine (IV — Anaesthesia/ICU) · Local Anaesthetic / Antiarrhythmic (Class Ib)
Decision support only — verify against a current formulary, NICE, or your local guideline before clinical use.