An Sist Sanit Navar
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Isolation of the airway sometimes determines the survival or death of the patient. To anticipate the presence of a difficult airway (DA) there are a number of indicators that are validated for hospitals: Mallampati, sternum and thyromental distance, interdental distance and Cormack grade. The aim of this study is to evaluate the use of these indicators in the ambulatory setting and to know the incidence of DA. ⋯ Interdental distance was less than 3 cm if presence is associated with DA (p = 0.005). The sensitivity and specificity of all measures are low. According to our series the sternum and thyromental distance are not useful in the ambulatory setting, but interdental distance is useful for predicting a DA.