title: Correlation between nasopharyngoscopy and cephalometry in the diagnosis of hyperplasia of the pharyngeal tonsils.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Hyperplasia of the pharyngeal tonsil is one of the main causes of mouth breathing, and accurate diagnosis of this alteration is important for proper therapeutic planning. Therefore, studies have been conducted in order to provide information regarding the procedures that can be used for the diagnosis of pharyngeal obstruction.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To verify the correlation between nasopharyngoscopy and cephalometric examinations in the diagnosis of pharyngeal tonsil hyperplasia.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a cross-sectional, clinical, experimental, and quantitative study. Fifty-five children took part in this study, 30 girls and 25 boys, aged between 7 and 11 years. The children underwent nasofibropharyngoscopic and cephalometric evaluation to determine the grade of nasopharyngeal obstruction. The Spearman's rank correlation coefficient at the 5% significance level was used to verify the correlation between these exams.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the nasopharyngoscopy evaluation, most children showed grade 2 and 3 hyperplasia of the pharyngeal tonsil, which was followed by grade 1. In the cephalometry assessment, most children showed grade 1 hyperplasia of the pharyngeal tonsil, which was followed by grade 2. A statistically significant regular positive correlation was observed between the exams.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It was concluded that the evaluation of the pharyngeal tonsil hyperplasia could be carried out by fiber optic nasopharyngoscopy and cephalometry, as these examinations were regularly correlated. However, it was found that cephalometry tended to underestimate the size of the pharyngeal tonsil relative to nasopharyngoscopy.
authors.affiliation: Master. Otolaryngologist from Hospital Universitário de Santa Maria - Santa Maria University Hospital.
authors.forename: Rodrigo Agne
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Ritzel
authors.affiliation: Master. Resident Speech Therapist for Multidisciplinary Integrated Management and Health Care Residency Program from Universidade Federal de Santa Maria - Federal University at Santa Maria.
authors.forename: Luana Cristina
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Berwig
authors.affiliation: Doctor. Professor Member from Speech Therapy Course of Universidade Federal de Santa Maria/ Federal University of Santa Maria.
authors.forename: Ana Maria Toniolo
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: da Silva
authors.affiliation: Doctor. Adjunct Professor of Physical Therapy Course of Universidade Federal de Santa Maria/ Federal University of Santa Maria.
authors.forename: Eliane Castilhos Rodrigues
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Corrêa
authors.affiliation: Master. Orthodontics Clinical.
authors.forename: Eliane Oliveira
authors.initials: EO
authors.lastname: Serpa
keywords: comparative study; diagnosis; mouth breathing; nasopharynx