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To determine if a patient's facial appearance helps predict difficult intubation, researchers asked 160 anesthesiologists to classify intubation difficulty with and without viewing facial images. Records and facial photographs (head-on and right and left profiles) were obtained for 80 white men who had undergone surgery (40 easy and 40 difficult intubations). Easy intubation was defined as a single intubation attempt with a grade 1 direct laryngoscopic view; difficult intubation was defined as more than one intubation attempt, a grade 3 or 4 direct laryngoscopic view, or use of an alternative airway device or intubation-facilitating maneuver. Anesthesiologists were asked to predict if an intubation would be easy or difficult, first when pre…