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Late-term pregnancy is known to be a marker for difficult intubation, but does labor exacerbate the problem? Investigators conducted two prospective studies to answer this question.
In the first study, they evaluated Mallampati classification during different stages of labor in 61 healthy pregnant women who were admitted to the labor-and-delivery suite at a single hospital. Airways were photographed using a standardized technique with the women in the sitting position during early labor (2–3-cm dilation), after labor (after the placenta was delivered), and 36 to 48 hours after delivery. An anesthesiologist blinded to patient characteristics assigned Mallampati classes to each photograph. Mallampati class increased between early- and post-lab…