Cormack-Lehane grade

Surgery and anaesthesia

Also known as: Cormack-Lehane-Klassifikation · Cormack-Lehane sınıflaması · Cormack-Lehane grading of the laryngoscopic view

What it is for

The Cormack-Lehane grade describes the best view of the larynx obtained at direct laryngoscopy. Grades:

Classification

CategoryDescription
Grade 1full view of the glottis.
Grade 2partial view of the glottis or arytenoids; in the Yentis–Lee modification 2a = part of the glottis visible, 2b = only the arytenoids or posterior vocal cords visible.
Grade 3only the epiglottis visible, no part of the glottis.
Grade 4neither glottis nor epiglottis visible.
Notegrades 3–4 are the usual definition of difficult laryngoscopy in studies; the grade is assigned during laryngoscopy, unlike the bedside Mallampati class.

Source

Difficult tracheal intubation in obstetrics

Anaesthesia 1984;39:1105–1111 (Cormack RS, Lehane J)

PMID: 6507827

Edition
Cormack and Lehane 1984 (grades 1–4); modified by Yentis and Lee 1998 (grade 2 split into 2a/2b)
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