The nasal septum deformities in children and adolescents from Warsaw, Poland.

OBJECTIVE

The final shape of the nasal septum deformities is a result of irregular development of the nasomaxillary complex or of a nasal injury. Nasal septum deformities reveal in childhood. The aim of this study is to estimate the prevalence of the particular types of the septum deformities in children according to Mladina's classification, analysis of the correlation between types of deformities and age and sex and checking if nasal injury influences the occurrences of nasal septum deformities and determines the particular type of it.

METHODS

The nasal septum morphology was examined in 288 children aged 3-17. The investigation was performed in kindergartens and schools in Warsaw. The study population was divided into three groups. Anterior rhinoscopy without nasal vasocontrictive drugs was performed. A questionnaire was included. The nasal septum deformities were qualified according to Mladina's classification. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Wilcoxon's test were used to performed statistical significance.

RESULTS

Deviation of the nasal septum was diagnosed in nearly 34% of the sample population. The nasal septum deformities occurred in 29% of girls and in nearly 37% of boys. The prevalence of septum deformities in group 1 aged 3-7 years was 35.23%, in group 2 aged 8-13 years was 27.97% and in group 3 aged 14-17 years was 40.24%. We observed statistically significant correlation between age of patients and type of nasal septum deformities (F=3.65, p=0.000876). In children with nasal injures, 66.66% had nasal septum deformities while in group without injuries there was about 31.69%. We observed statistically significant correlation between type of nasal septum deformities and nasal injuries (Z=7.67, p<0.0000001).

CONCLUSIONS

The percentage of the nasal septum deformities change with age. Deviation of the nasal septum was more prevalent in boys. The risk of occurrence of the nasal septum deformities increases after nasal injury. Type 1 and type 5 according to Mladina's classification dominates in study population. Type 1 decreases with age, while type 5 increases with age.