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Assessing adenoid hypertrophy in children: X‐ray or nasal endoscopy?
Author(s) -
Baldassari Cristina M.,
Choi Sukgi
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
the laryngoscope
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.181
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1531-4995
pISSN - 0023-852X
DOI - 10.1002/lary.24366
Subject(s) - adenoid , adenoid hypertrophy , medicine , palpation , acoustic rhinometry , radiology , otorhinolaryngology , endoscopy , tonsillectomy , magnetic resonance imaging , adenoid cystic carcinoma , nose , adenoidectomy , surgery , pathology , carcinoma
BACKGROUND Upper airway obstruction is a common complaint in children presenting to otolaryngology clinics. In such children, adenoid hypertrophy is often suspected. There are numerous ways to determine adenoid size, including palpation, mirror examination, endoscopic examination, lateral neck roentgenogram (X-ray), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and acoustic rhinometry. Pediatric patient cooperation limits the utilization of palpation and mirror examination, while acoustic rhinometry and MRI are not practical in the clinical setting. Thus, flexible fiberoptic nasal endoscopy (FNE) and lateral neck X-ray are the two most common diagnostic tools used to assess for adenoid hypertrophy. Cost-effective, age-specific guidelines on how best to evaluate adenoid size are lacking. The aim of this review is to determine whether X-ray or endoscopy is superior in assessing adenoid hypertrophy in pediatric patients presenting with upper airway obstruction.