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Updated: Mar 22, 2026
Simultaneous Laryngopharyngeal and Conventional Esophageal pH Monitoring
Published on: December 14, 2020
Oropharyngeal 24-Hour pH Monitoring in Children With Airway-Related Problems
1Department of Otorhinolaryngology, King Abdulaziz University Hospital, King Saud University College of Medicine, Research Chair of Voice, Swallowing, and Communication Disorders, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Egypt.
Insights
Pediatric 24-hour oropharyngeal pH monitoring is feasible in outpatient settings, even for children under three. Positive results were associated with laryngomalacia and subglottic stenosis in children with airway issues.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Gastroenterology
- Otolaryngology
- Pediatric Pulmonology
Background:
- Diagnosis of pediatric laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) remains challenging.
- Clinical presentation of LPR in children is often debated.
- Need for reliable diagnostic tools in pediatric airway conditions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the feasibility of 24-hour oropharyngeal pH monitoring in pediatric outpatients.
- To correlate pH monitoring results with airway-related problems in children.
- To evaluate the test's tolerability in young children.
Main Methods:
- Descriptive qualitative study including 26 children with airway problems.
- Performed 24-hour oropharyngeal pH monitoring in an outpatient clinic.
- Analyzed the distribution of airway diagnoses against pH monitoring outcomes.
Main Results:
- 85% of pediatric patients tolerated the pH probe and completed the 24-hour recording.
- Laryngomalacia and subglottic stenosis (SGS) were prevalent in 77% of positive LPR cases.
- 35% of the study group were children under 3 years old.
Conclusions:
- 24-hour oropharyngeal pH monitoring is a viable outpatient procedure for children, including those under three.
- Positive LPR findings in children are frequently linked to laryngomalacia and SGS.
- The study supports the use of pH monitoring for diagnosing LPR in pediatric airway conditions.
Objectives:
Diagnosis and clinical presentation of pediatric laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) is still controversial. The aims of this work were to study the possibility of performing 24-hour oropharyngeal pH monitoring for children in the outpatient clinic setup and to explore the results of this test in correlation to airway-related problems.
Methods:
In this descriptive qualitative study, 26 children suffering from airway-related problems were included. Oropharyngeal 24-hour pH monitoring was performed for all subjects in the outpatient clinic setting. The distribution of airway diagnoses among the study group was studied versus the results of the pH monitoring.
Results:
There were 16 males and 10 females participated in the study with a mean age of 6.88 (SD, ±5.77) years. Thirty-five percent of the patients were under the age of 3 years (range, 11 months to 3 years). Eight-five percent of the patients tolerated the pH probe insertion and completed 24-hour of pH recording. Laryngomalacia and subglottic stenosis (SGS) were more frequently reported in the positive LPR patients (77%).
Conclusion:
Oropharyngeal 24-hour pH monitoring can be conducted for children in the outpatient setup even in young age children below 3 years old. Among the positive LPR group, SGS and laryngomalacia were the most commonly reported airway findings.
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