Etiology, clinical manifestations and concurrent findings in mouth-breathing children.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the etiology, main clinical manifestations and other concurrent findings in mouth-breathing children aged 3 to 9 years and resident in the urban area of Abaeté (MG), Brazil.


METHODS
This study was based on a representative random sample of the town population, of 23,596 inhabitants. Clinical diagnosis of mouth-breathing was defined as a combination of snoring, sleeping with mouth open, drooling on the pillow and frequent or intermittent nasal obstruction. Children with a clinical diagnosis of mouth-breathing underwent nasal endoscopy, allergy skin tests and X ray of the rhinopharynx, full blood tests, eosinophil counts, total IgE assay and fecal parasitology. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 10.5.


RESULTS
The main causes of mouth-breathing were: allergic rhinitis (81.4%), enlarged adenoids (79.2%), enlarged tonsils (12.6%), and obstructive deviation of the nasal septum (1.0%). The main clinical manifestations of mouth breathers were: sleeping with mouth open (86%), snoring (79%), itchy nose (77%), drooling on the pillow (62%), nocturnal sleep problems or agitated sleep (62%), nasal obstruction (49%), and irritability during the day (43%).


CONCLUSIONS
Certain clinical manifestations are very common among mouth-breathing children. These manifestations must be recognized and considered in the clinical diagnosis of mouth-breathing.
Abreu
Rubens Rafael
RR
Centro de Pós-Graduação, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. rubensabreu@abaetenet.psi.br
Rocha
Regina Lunardi
RL
Lamounier
Joel Alves
JA
Guerra
Angela Francisca Marques
AF
D000234:Adenoids / Q000473:pathology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009058:Mouth Breathing / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D015508:Nasal Obstruction / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D009300:Nasal Septum / Q000473:pathology; D014066:Palatine Tonsil / Q000473:pathology; D012220:Rhinitis / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D012913:Snoring / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology