The nasopharyngeal soft tissue sign: a reappraisal

An increase in the thickness of the soft tissues of the posterior nasopharyngeal wall has been described in patients with a fracture of the skull base (Andrew, 1978). Measurements of this soft tissue layer made in the same way, in Southampton, have shown a striking difference in the mean and in the normal range both in adolescents and adults. The normal measurements overlap those found in patients with a fracture of the skull base and the sign is not therefore a reliable indication of the presence of such a fracture.