Predicción de la vía aérea difícil mediante las escalas Mallampati y Cormack-lehane durante anestesia general en cirugías de emergencia

Abstract

Introduction: Pre-anesthesia planning permits knowing the risks associated with the surgical procedure of each patient, so the need for anesthetic evaluation by using predictors of difficult airways is indispensable to avoid life-threatening complications. Methodology: This is a literature review study of narrative type from scientific databases, such as SciELO, PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Science Direct, part of the PRISMA strategy, on the prediction of difficult airway using the Cormack - Lehane and Mallampati scales during general anesthesia in emergency surgeries. Results: Mallampati has a sensitivity of 62.5% and a specificity of 78.8%; the positive predictive value for intubation was 7.9%, and the negative predictive value was 98.6%, while the Cormack - Lehane scale reported a sensitivity of 62.5% and specificity 50%, positive predictive value for intubation 12% and negative predictive value 96.7%. Therefore, they are useful in estimating difficult airways by reducing the risks associated with ventilation. Conclusions: The predictive scales of the airway area have variable sensitivity and specificity, but they help to reduce the complications of its management. To have a better predictive value it should be associated with variables such as obesity, short neck, and thyromental distance, among others. Keywords: Difficult airway, Intraoperative Complications, Pre-anesthetic Evaluation, Difficult intubation, Modified Mallampati Classification, Cormack-Lehane Classification.