Validation of the oral screen test as a tool for screening pediatric nasal obstruction

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Otolaryngology
• Diagnostic Test Validation
• Respiratory Physiology

Background:

• Pediatric nasal obstruction can cause significant health problems, including altered facial growth and sleep disturbances.
• Accurate diagnosis is difficult due to unreliable subjective assessments and challenging objective tests like rhinomanometry in children.
• An oral screen test offers a potential rapid, cost-effective diagnostic approach for pediatric nasal obstruction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To validate the efficacy of an oral screen test for diagnosing nasal obstruction in pediatric patients.
• To assess the correlation between oral screen test results and objective nasal resistance measurements.
• To determine the test's utility as a screening tool in clinical settings.

Main Methods:

• Diagnostic test validation in 104 children (aged 4-15 years) using rhinomanometry as the gold standard.
• Utilized a silicone oral screen (Forwardontics®) and the Spanish Sinus and Nasal Quality of Life Survey (SN-5).
• Compared nasal resistance between children with positive and negative oral screen test results.

Main Results:

• The oral screen test was positive in 75% (78/104) of the pediatric participants.
• Children with a positive oral screen test exhibited significantly higher nasal resistance (561.3 ±140.5%) compared to those with a negative test (102.0 ±3.4%).
• An odds ratio of 18.5 (95% CI: 5.5-64.1) indicated a strong association between a positive test and nasal obstruction.

Conclusions:

• The oral screen test demonstrates high sensitivity and moderate specificity for diagnosing nasal obstruction in children.
• This test serves as a valuable and practical screening tool for pediatric nasal obstruction in clinical practice.
• The findings support the use of the oral screen test to identify children requiring further evaluation for nasal obstruction.