Difficult intubation in obstetrics

Abstract

Difficult intubation in obstetricsTo the Editor: It has been reported that tracheal intubation is more difficult in the pregnant patiend -3 and this may be related to fluid accumulation and the presence of the fetus. Recently, an increased Mallampati score has been reported in obstetrical patients. 4 We have studied several obstetrical patients who were submit- ted to tracheal intubation. Our data were collected retrospectively from department records. Of 9,025 patients, 908 were to undergo Caesarean section. We considered patients with Mallampati score of I-2 indicated easy intubation and grades Ill and IV as difficult. Overall, the Mallampati scores were similar to previous reports 5 (Table I). However, in the patients due to undergo Caesarean section, the Mallampati scorewas decreased (Table Ii).. Although further studies should focus on similar age groups, we believe that the differences that we observed may have been due to fewer overweight patients in our population compared with Caucasian subjects. We intend to extend our studies in this area.