Reference values for acoustic rhinometry in children at baseline and after decongestion

Acoustic rhinometry is widely used for objective evaluation of nasal dimensions. However, there is a lack of agreement on the normative values in children at baseline, and especially after decongestion. The purpose of this study was to determine the reference values for Finnish school children for acoustic rhinometry in non-decongested and decongested noses, and to find out which of the potential predictors (age, sex, body surface area (BSA) and height) would be the most useful one(s).

The study included 124 children aged between 6.90 and 13.84 years with no permanent nasal symptoms.

At baseline, the mean total minimal cross-sectional area (MCA) was 0.752 cm2, and the mean total volume between 0 - 3 cm (VOL) was 4.00 cm3. After decongestion, the total MCA was 0.794 cm2, and the VOL was 4.38 cm3. There was a significant correlation between MCA and age, between VOL and height, and between VOL and BSA at baseline and after decongestion. We found no difference in the values between boys and girls.

We conclude that acoustic rhinometry is a suitable objective method to monitor the changes in mucosal swelling and nasal obstruction in children. Age and height or BSA of a child can be suggested as predictive factors.