The prevalence and effects of pectus excavatum and pectus carinatum on the respiratory function in children between 7–14 years old.

ABSTRACT

The study involved 1342 primary school students aged 7–14 years who applied to Ankara, a primary care center for general health check-up between 2006 and 2007. Forty-three students, 35 of whom had PE and 8 of whom had PC, were subjected to thorax measurement. All 43 students underwent pulmonary function tests (PFT).The prevalence rate of PC was 0.6%, and of PE, 2.6%. The thorax widths of the groups were similar (P=0.273). The thorax circumference and depth of PE group were lower than those of the controls (P<0.05). The probability rate of abnormality in PFT scores of PE group was statistically significantly higher than that of the controls (P=0.022) whereas absence of normal PFT scores the difference between PC group and the controls was not statistically significant (p=0.095). The results indicate that more than half of the individuals with pectus deformity do not have any physical complaints and do not have statistically significant differences in their PFT parameters.