Reliability of Friedman Staging System and Modified Mallampati Scoring as clinical assessment methods for Obstructive Sleep Apnea – A cross sectional study

ABSTRACT

Objective

To assess the utility of oropharyngeal crowding indicators as predictors of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA).

Methods

STOP-BANG Questionnaire was administered to 145 adults. Of the 95 with high OSA risk, 42 underwent polysomnography. Intraoral space was assessed using modified Mallampati (MMP) and Friedman Scoring (FS) System.

Results

Twenty-four were found to have OSA by polysomnography. Most with low risk (86%) had only Class I MMP. Whereas Class III and IV were seen in 37.9% and 17.9% patients with high risk (p < .001) and 50% and 20.8% patients with OSA (p < .831), respectively. All with low risk had Stage 1 FS. Stages 3 and 4 were observed in 27.4% and 1.1% in the high-risk group (p < .001) and in 29.2% and 4.2% with OSA (p < .092), respectively.

Conclusion

In limited settings, either MMP or FS scores along with the STOP-BANG questionnaire can be used to diagnose OSA.

KEYWORDS:

• Sleep Apnea
• polysomnography
• Mallampati score
• Friedman staging

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

Analyzed data is available with the corresponding author and can be supplied on request.

Disclaimer

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any agency of the authors.

Additional information

Funding

No grant was received from any agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.