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Effect of age on nasal cross‐sectional area and respiratory mode in children
Author(s) -
Warren Donald W.,
Hairfield W. Michael,
Dalston Eileen T.
Publication year - 1990
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 - 10.1288/00005537-199001000-00018
Subject(s) - medicine , cross sectional study , breathing , respiratory system , nose , mouth breathing , airway , anesthesia , surgery , pathology
Although nasal cross‐sectional size has been reported for adults, no information is available concerning the effects of age on nasal area and breathing mode in children. Determination of the effect of age on nasal size is necessary in order to define nasal airway impairment in children. The purpose of this study was to determine mean nasal cross‐sectional size in children between the ages of 6 and 15 years. One hundred two children were assessed during resting breathing. The pressure‐flow technique was used to estimate nasal cross‐sectional size, and inductive plethys‐mography was used to assess nasal‐oral breathing. The results indicate that nasal airway size increased approximately 0.032 cm 2 each year. Mean nasal cross‐sectional area increased from 0.21 ± 0.05 cm 2 at age 6 to 0.46 ± 0.15 cm 2 at age 14. The percentage of nasal breathing also increased with age.