Comparison of lingual tonsil size as depicted on MR imaging between children with obstructive sleep apnea despite previous tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy and normal controls.
BACKGROUND
Cine MRI has become a useful tool in the evaluation of patients with persistent obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) despite previous surgical intervention and in patients with underlying conditions that render them susceptible to multilevel airway obstruction. Findings on cine MRI studies have also increased our understanding of the mechanisms and anatomic causes of OSA in children.


OBJECTIVE
To compare lingual tonsil size between children with OSA and a group of normal controls. In addition, a subanalysis was made of the group of children with OSA comparing lingual tonsils between children with and without underlying Down syndrome.


METHODS
Children with persistent OSA despite previous palatine tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy and controls without OSA underwent MR imaging with sagittal fast spin echo inversion-recovery images, and lingual tonsils were categorized as nonperceptible at imaging or present and measurable. When present, lingual tonsils were measured in the maximum anterior-posterior diameter. If lingual tonsils were greater than 10 mm in diameter and abutting both the posterior border of the tongue and the posterior pharyngeal wall, they were considered markedly enlarged.


RESULTS
There were statistically significant differences between the OSA and control groups for the presence vs. nonvisualization of lingual tonsils (OSA 33% vs. control 0%, P=0.0001) and mean diameter of the lingual tonsils (OSA 9.50 mm vs. control 0.0 mm, P=0.00001). Within the OSA group, there were statistically significant differences between children with and without Down syndrome for the three lingual tonsil width categories (P=0.0070) and occurrence of markedly enlarged lingual tonsils (with Down syndrome 35% vs. without Down syndrome 3%, P=0.0035).


CONCLUSIONS
Enlargement of the lingual tonsils is relatively common in children with persistent obstructive sleep apnea after palatine tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy. This is particularly true in patients with Down syndrome.
Fricke
Bradley L
BL
Department of Radiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH 45229-3039, USA.
Donnelly
Lane F
LF
Shott
Sally R
SR
Kalra
Maninder
M
Poe
Stacy A
SA
Chini
Barbara A
BA
Amin
Raouf S
RS
D000233:Adenoidectomy; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019028:Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Cine; D008297:Male; D014066:Palatine Tonsil / Q000473:pathology*; D017286:Polysomnography; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000473:pathology*; D014068:Tonsillectomy