[Difficult tracheal intubation: comparative assessment of the value of prognostic indices in using Macintosh and...

The paper describes the experience in using three predictive criteria, such as Mallampati test, Patila test, and ULBT test, to evaluate tracheal intubation and compares their predictive validity. The experience in applying Macintosh and Truview laryngoscopes to patients with predicted difficult tracheal intubation (DTI) is also depicted. A combination of three above predictive procedures is a reliable predictor of DTI (r = 0.5; p < 0.05). Therefore their combination may be recommended for clinical use to predict DTI. No significant correlation was obtained between the other criteria of DTI and the difficulties during intubation at the first attempt (p > 0.05). There was no statistical significant correlation between the used type of a laryngoscope and the rate of effective/ineffective intubations at the first attempt (r = 0.34; p > 0.05).