Sepúlveda Haro Enrique, Raigón Ponferrada Aída, Ramírez Aliaga Marta, Galache Laza Manuel, Guerrero Orriach José L, Mañas José C
Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Virgen de la Victoria University Hospital, Málaga, Spain -
Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Virgen de la Victoria University Hospital, Málaga, Spain.
Minerva Anestesiol. 2022 May;88(5):390-395. doi: 10.23736/S0375-9393.21.15945-0. Epub 2021 Oct 12.
Mallampati Class Zero airway describes a visible epiglottis on pharyngoscopic view. It was first noted by Tobold A in 1869 and was proposed as a new class in modified Mallampati Classification by Ezri T. et al. We aim to summarize the current knowledge about Mallampati Class Zero airway and its implication on airway management.
We reviewed the reported studies about visible epiglottis on pharyngoscopy and 34 publications were selected.
The diagnosis of Mallampati Class Zero airway is usually achieved as a casual finding during airway assessment of Mallampati Test, during a regular checkup at the dentist, or even after a medical consultation due to a suspected visualization of a foreign body at the back of the throat. Mallampati Class Zero airway has a low prevalence in the general population (prevalence of 0.7-1.7% of adults and 0.3-6% of children) and it is more frequent in children and female. The cause for this phenomenon is not well understood but in clinical practice it is associated with an easy airway. Interestingly, in the pediatric population with Mallampati class zero airway, the difficult airway has not been reported to date.
Mallampati Class Zero is associated with an easy airway and it should be included as a different class in the modified Mallamapti classification, which would also contribute to its spread between professionals involved in the airway management and will favour increasing investigation and knowledge about it.
Mallampati 0 级气道是指在喉镜检查时可见会厌。它于 1869 年由托博尔德·A 首次发现，并由埃兹里·T 等人在改良的 Mallampati 分类法中提议作为一个新的级别。我们旨在总结目前关于 Mallampati 0 级气道的知识及其对气道管理的影响。
我们回顾了已报道的关于喉镜检查时可见会厌的研究，并筛选出 34 篇文献。
Mallampati 0 级气道的诊断通常是在 Mallampati 试验的气道评估过程中、牙科定期检查时偶然发现的，甚至在因怀疑咽喉后部有异物而进行医学咨询后也可能发现。Mallampati 0 级气道在普通人群中的患病率较低（成年人患病率为 0.7 - 1.7%，儿童患病率为 0.3 - 6%），且在儿童和女性中更为常见。这种现象的原因尚不完全清楚，但在临床实践中它与气道易于管理有关。有趣的是，在患有 Mallampati 0 级气道的儿科人群中，迄今为止尚未报道有困难气道的情况。
Mallampati 0 级与气道易于管理相关，应在改良的 Mallamapti 分类法中作为一个不同的级别纳入，这也将有助于其在参与气道管理的专业人员之间传播，并有利于增加对它的研究和了解。
