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Etiology, clinical manifestations and concurrent findings in mouth-breathing children

Rubens Rafael Abreu1, Regina Lunardi Rocha, Joel Alves Lamounier

  • 1Centro de Pós-Graduação, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. rubensabreu@abaetenet.psi.br

Jornal De Pediatria
|December 9, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Mouth-breathing in children is often caused by allergic rhinitis and enlarged adenoids. Recognizing common symptoms like snoring and open-mouth sleeping is key for diagnosis.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Otolaryngology
  • Allergy and Immunology
  • Respiratory Medicine

Background:

  • Mouth-breathing is a common condition in children.
  • Understanding its causes and manifestations is crucial for effective diagnosis and management.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the causes, clinical signs, and associated findings in children aged 3-9 years with mouth-breathing.
  • Focus on children residing in Abaeté (MG), Brazil.

Main Methods:

  • A representative random sample of 23,596 inhabitants was used.
  • Mouth-breathing diagnosis combined snoring, open-mouth sleeping, drooling, and nasal obstruction.
  • Diagnostic tools included nasal endoscopy, allergy skin tests, X-rays, blood tests, and fecal parasitology.

Main Results:

  • The primary causes identified were allergic rhinitis (81.4%) and enlarged adenoids (79.2%).
  • Key manifestations included open-mouth sleeping (86%), snoring (79%), itchy nose (77%), and drooling (62%).
  • Nocturnal sleep disturbances (62%) and nasal obstruction (49%) were also prevalent.

Conclusions:

  • Specific clinical signs are highly prevalent in mouth-breathing children.
  • Early recognition of these manifestations is vital for accurate clinical diagnosis of mouth-breathing.
Abstract

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