Development patterns of adenoids in Chinese children without sleep-disordered breathing: a retrospective magnetic resonance imaging study with consecutive age groups  

作　　者：Xiao-Li Yi Un-Yin Yao Peng-Fei Zhao Xin-Yu Yuan Zhen-Chang Wang 

机构地区：[1]Department of Radiology,The Affiliated Children's Hospital,Capital Institute of Pediatrics,Beijing 100020,China [2]Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery,Beijing Anzhen Hospital,Capital Medical University,Beijing 100029,China [3]Department of Radiology,Beijing Friendship Hospital,Capital Medical University,Beijing 100050,China

出　　处：《Chinese Medical Journal》2021年第12期1500-1502,共3页中华医学杂志（英文版）

基　　金：supported by a grant from the Beijing Municipal Administration of Hospitals Incubating Program(No.PX2020053).

摘　　要：To the Editor:Sleep-disordered breathing(SDB)is a health problem affecting approximately 12%of children in China,[1]characterized by habitual loud snoring and increased respiratory effort.Increased upper airway resistance related to enlarged adenoids has been identified as the most common cause in children with obstructive SDB,and adenoidectomy is the standard treatment for the disorder.Similar to lymphoid tissues,adenoids show a unique natural growth pattern,which incorporates both overgrowth and involution.However,the development patterns of adenoids have not been clearly elucidated.Since the adenoids are located in the nasopharynx roof,direct evaluation of their size and proportion to the upper airway area is difficult.Thus,radiological methods have been employed widely for such purposes,including traditional plain cranial radiographs,computed tomography(CT),cone-beam CT,and magnetic resonance imaging(MRI).MRI can reveal the accurate size of adenoids by differentiating them from other soft tissue structures without any ionizing radiation;therefore,it can effectively study the adenoids’developmental pattern in normal children.Previous studies have evaluated age-associated changes in adenoid size by MRI.Arens et al[2]indicated that adenoids grow proportionally to the skeletal structures in children aged 1 to 11 years.Papaioannou et al[3]reported that head MRI examinations demonstrated increased adenoid size during the first 7–8 years of life and then decreased gradually in children without snoring signs.Variabilities of the above-reported adenoids’development pattern exist due to the limitations associated with the small sample size.Furthermore,none of the above-mentioned studies on normal children used a strict method to exclude SDB.Additionally,for adenoid hypertrophy,the adenoid/nasopharyngeal(A/N)ratio was found to be a useful,tolerable,and confident diagnostic method in pediatric patients,with emphasis on the correlation of the adenoid size and upper airway lumen to variable degrees.Therefore,the A/N

关 键 词：ADENOID RESONANCE CHILDREN 

分 类 号：R725[医药卫生—儿科] R445[医药卫生—临床医学]