Evaluation of children nasal geometry, employing accoustic rhinometry.
The area above the nasal cavity plays a role in respiratory physiology.


OBJECTIVE
To analyze, during a period of growth, a possible change in the minimum cross sectional area (MCA) and nasal volume of the anterior nasal cavity.


METHODS
We evaluated 29 children (14 boys and 15 girls) with a mean age of 7.81 years at first examination (M1) and 11.27 years in the second examination (M2), without symptoms of nasal obstruction. The interval between examinations was 36-48 months. Children were subjected to the examination of acoustic rhinometry in which we recorded the minimum cross-sectional areas, volumes and their correlations with gender.


METHODS
Cohort.


RESULTS
The mean cross-sectional area of the nasal cavity of MCA for girls was 0.30 +/- 0.09 cm2 (M1) and 0.30 +/- 0.14 cm2 (M2), while for boys was 0.24 +/- 0.12 cm2 (M1) and 0.32 +/- 0.10 cm2 (M2). The mean values of the total volumes found for the whole sample were 2.17 +/- 0.23 cm3 (MCA1-M1), 2.56 +/- 0.27 cm3 (MCA1-M2), 4.24 +/- 1.17 cm3 (MCA2- M2) and 4.63 +/- 1.10 cm3 (MCA2-M2).


CONCLUSIONS
There was no significant change in the minimum cross sectional area of the anterior nasal cavity. There was no significant difference between genders for both MCA and for the volume. There was a significant increase in MCA1.
Paiva
João Batista de
JB
Orthodontcs and Odontopediatrics Department, Dental School of the Sao Paulo University (USP), Brazil.
Freire-Maia
Belini Augusto Villalba
BA
Rino Neto
José
J
Di Francesco
Renata Cantisani
RC
Voegels
Richard Louis
RL
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009296:Nasal Cavity / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D012016:Reference Values; D023842:Rhinometry, Acoustic