title: Acoustic rhinometry in mouth breathing patients: a systematic review.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  When there is a change in the physiological pattern of nasal breathing, mouth breathing may already be present. The diagnosis of mouth breathing is related to nasal patency. One way to access nasal patency is by acoustic rhinometry.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To systematically review the effectiveness of acoustic rhinometry for the diagnosis of patients with mouth breathing.
  
  
  METHODS
  Electronic databases LILACS, MEDLINE via PubMed and Bireme, SciELO, Web of Science, Scopus, PsycInfo, CINAHL, and Science Direct, from August to December 2013, were consulted. 11,439 articles were found: 30 from LILACS, 54 from MEDLINE via Bireme, 5558 from MEDLINE via PubMed, 11 from SciELO, 2056 from Web of Science, 1734 from Scopus, 13 from PsycInfo, 1108 from CINAHL, and 875 from Science Direct. Of these, two articles were selected.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The heterogeneity in the use of equipment and materials for the assessment of respiratory mode in these studies reveals that there is not yet consensus in the assessment and diagnosis of patients with mouth breathing.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  According to the articles, acoustic rhinometry has been used for almost twenty years, but controlled studies attesting to the efficacy of measuring the geometry of nasal cavities for complementary diagnosis of respiratory mode are warranted.
authors.affiliation: Human Communication Health, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife, PE, Brazil. Electronic address: carolyh_cm@yahoo.com.br.
authors.forename: Ana Carolina Cardoso de
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Melo
authors.affiliation: Hospital de Reabilitação de Anomalias Craniofaciais, Universidade de São Paulo (HRAC-USP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil; Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife, PE, Brazil.
authors.forename: Adriana de Oliveira de Camargo
authors.initials: Ade O
authors.lastname: Gomes
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife, PE, Brazil.
authors.forename: Arlene Santos
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Cavalcanti
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife, PE, Brazil.
authors.forename: Hilton Justino da
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Silva
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D009058:Mouth Breathing / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D009296:Nasal Cavity / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015508:Nasal Obstruction / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests / Q000295:instrumentation; D023842:Rhinometry, Acoustic; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
keywords: Acoustic rhinometry; Cavidade nasal; Diagnosis; Diagnóstico; Mouth breathing; Nasal cavity; Respiração bucal; Rinometria acústica