Correlation of diagnostic systems with adenoidal tissue volume: a blind prospective study

To determine the correlation between adenoid tissue volume and three diagnostic methods of deciding whether to perform an adenoidectomy.

The study used 152 patients (mean age, 5.8+/-2.5 years; age range, 2-12 years) who underwent an adenoidectomy at our clinic between April 2005 and April 2007. Patients requiring a revision operation and those with a cleft palate were excluded. To estimate the extent to which the adenoid narrowed the choana, an evaluation was made using nasal endoscopy (%), a mirror (%), and palpation (rated from 1 to 5) with the patient in Rose's position just before surgery. Postadenoidectomy tissue volume was measured (in cm(3)). The Spearman rank correlation and stepwise linear regression analyses were used to statistically evaluate the data.

Nasal endoscopy revealed that the choana was narrowed by the adenoid at an average of 86.6+/-13.1% (range, 50-99%). When viewing upward by a mirror, the choana was observed as being narrowed at an average of 44.2+/-30.2% (range, 5-100%). The mean palpation value was 3.2+/-1.4 (range, 1-5). The mean volume of adenoidal tissue measured was 1.8+/-0.8 cm(3) (range, 0.7-4.5 cm(3)). Nasal endoscopy was determined to be the best means of checking by the Spearman rank correlation. Mirror (R=0.64, P<.0001), palpation (R=0.62, P<.0001), and volume (R=0.62, P<.0001) were correlated with the nasal endoscopy; however, regression analysis found that only palpation (P=.003) and volume (P<.001) were independent variables affecting the image of nasal endoscopy, mirror inspection (P=.260) was not.

Nasal endoscopy is considered the most important tool to indicate adenoidectomy. This study showed that nasal endoscopy and palpation provide the most accurate determination of the volume of adenoidal tissues dissected by adenoidectomy.