Mallampati Classification
Predicts difficulty of endotracheal intubation based on oropharyngeal visualization to guide airway management planning
Also written as: Mallampati, Mallampati class.
- Highest activation tier
- Recommended
- How it is scored
- Scored in code; a detected disagreeing draft value is flagged for correction
- Scoring type
- classification
- Care settings
- Emergency department, ICU, Inpatient
When it activates
Scribeable activates a calculator from the encounter. The Mallampati Classification can activate when the transcript or pasted chart context documents any of these:
- Airway assessment
- Intubation planning
- Difficult airway evaluation
- Pre-anesthesia airway exam
- OSA airway evaluation
Inputs the note needs
1 input. Each is resolved from the transcript, the pasted chart context and charted labs; at this calculator’s tier a missing input is never requested, and a missing required input keeps the score out of the draft.
| Input | Type | Unit / options | Guidance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Structures visible with mouth open and tongue protruded (uvula, faucial pillars, soft palate, hard palate) | exam |
Scoring
Class I: Full visibility of tonsils, uvula, and soft palate. Class II: Visibility of hard and soft palate, upper portion of tonsils and uvula. Class III: Soft and hard palate visible, base of uvula visible. Class IV: Hard palate only visible.
Class from oropharyngeal view Structures visible with mouth open and tongue protruded (uvula, faucial pillars, soft palate, hard palate) (I=full tonsils+uvula+soft palate, II=partial uvula, III=base of uvula, IV=hard palate only)
Interpretation
Class I-II: Generally easy intubation. Class III: Potential difficulty, prepare adjuncts. Class IV: Anticipated difficult airway — video laryngoscopy, fiberoptic intubation, or awake intubation recommended. Sensitivity ~60%, specificity ~70% for difficult intubation; combine with thyromental distance, neck mobility, and mouth opening for better prediction.
Evidence
Sources carried in Scribeable's citation registry for this calculator; guideline version: Mallampati 1985.
- Mallampati SR et al. A clinical sign to predict difficult tracheal intubation: a prospective studyMallampati et al. 1985 · 1985 · Level I · link last verified 2026-03-28
How Scribeable handles it in the note
When an encounter activates the Mallampati Classification (its highest tier is recommended), Scribeable does not ask you for missing inputs. The score is computed in code from whatever inputs resolve from the transcript, the pasted chart context or charted labs; a computed value is written into the draft only when every required input already resolves.
The score is computed in code from the resolved inputs, not recalled by the language model. If the draft states a Mallampati Classification value that disagrees with the computed one, the disagreement is flagged to the second drafting pass, which is instructed to correct the score and its interpretation before you see the note.
Classified as a staging or classification system: activated strictly, because a wrong stage on the wrong patient is a documentation hazard.
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