Age-specific size of the upper airway structures in children during development.

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this study was to establish the largest magnetic resonance imaging study so far, by including 292 cases in a prospective fashion, to investigate the normative values of the upper airway and surrounding tissues during development.

METHODS

We enrolled in the study 448 children who underwent cranial magnetic resonance imaging. We included 292 patients who had no sleep disorders or any associated symptom that could be related to breathing disorders. Using midsagittal and axial images, we evaluated the variations in size of the upper airway tissues.

RESULTS

On images from the midsagittal plane, the normative values of the length and the thickness of the soft palate, the length and height of the tongue, the distance between the mental spine and the clivus, the thickness of the adenoid pad and the nasopharyngeal area, the adenoid pad oblique width, the soft palate oblique width, and the tongue oblique width were obtained for several age groups. Using images from the axial plane at the level of maximal tonsillar cross-sectional area, we measured the normative values of the mean tonsillar width and intertonsillar space.

CONCLUSIONS

Magnetic resonance imaging is an excellent method of assessing upper airway structures. Knowledge of variations in size of the upper airway and surrounding tissues is essential in determining the significance of incidental findings in this area.