Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31992434›Full record

ReviewJournal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine2020

Utility of the modified Mallampati grade and Friedman tongue position in the assessment of obstructive sleep apnea.

Jason L Yu, Ilene Rosen

Abstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
30citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

30 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Trial
  2. Interrater reliability between in-person and telemedicine evaluations in obstructive sleep apnea.Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine · 2021
    Trial
  3. The upper airway in obstructive sleep apnoea: state of the art.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2026
    Review
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Excessive Daytime Sleepiness and Risk of Sleep Apnea: A Retrospective Analysis of Peruvian Adults.Clinical practice and epidemiology in mental health : CP & EMH · 2026
    Article
  7. Assessing the effectiveness of the Friedman classification and its components in predicting obstructive sleep apnea: a Brazilian cross-sectional study.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2025
    Article
  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. [Application of palatopharyngeal arch staging system in assessing the severity of obstructive sleep apnea and airway collapse].Lin chuang er bi yan hou tou jing wai ke za zhi = Journal of clinical otorhinolaryngology head and neck surgery · 2025
    Article
  11. Review
  12. Review
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. The Relationship Between Sleep, Epilepsy, and Development: a Review.Current neurology and neuroscience reports · 2023
    Review
  17. International Consensus Statement on Obstructive Sleep Apnea.International forum of allergy & rhinology · 2023
    Review
  18. Article
  19. Review
  20. Tongue size matters: revisiting the Mallampati classification system in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.Jornal brasileiro de pneumologia : publicacao oficial da Sociedade Brasileira de Pneumologia e Tisilogia · 2023
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Jason L YuDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Ilene RosenDepartment of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

STUDY

objectivesThe modified Mallampati (MM) grade and Friedman tongue position (FTP) are commonly used scales that assess the oropharynx during evaluation for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Though used by many practitioners, there is controversy in the literature regarding their practical utility. The goal of this review will be to review the history of how the MM and FTP were developed, to discuss current evidence for their usefulness in the workup of OSA, and to provide future direction to better understand their utility in the workup of OSA.

methodsWe searched the literature (PubMed) for the terms "modified Mallampati" and "Friedman tongue position." Articles were selected based on our study objectives emphasizing articles discussing the utility of MM and FTP in managing OSA.

conclusionsMM and FTP have the potential to be useful assessment tools in the evaluation of OSA. When performing this examination, it is important for physicians and other medical providers to understand the pitfalls of the MM and FTP including the potential difficulty in performing the exam and the lack of consistency between examiners in both the terminology and execution of this physical exam finding. Better methods to standardize the assessment are necessary to ensure consistent evaluation among individual examiners while at the same time keeping the method simple and convenient for wide use as a clinical screening tool.

Indexed as

Sleep Apnea, ObstructiveHumansMass ScreeningOropharynxPolysomnographyTongueFriedman tongue positionmodified Mallampatiobstructive sleep apneaOSA

Identifiers

PMID31992434
PMCPMC7053038

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.