Usefulness of Measuring Airway Length with Cephalometry in Pediatric Subjects with Obstructive Sleep Apnea

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: This study was designed to analyze the relationship between measurement of airway length with cephalometry and AHI in children with OSA and to assess the correlations between cephalometric parameters and salivary cortisol level.SUBJECTS AND METHOD: Three parameters of the upper airway were measured by cephalometry distance from the posterior nasal spine to the hyoid bone (PHy), distance from the mandibular plane to the hyoid bone (MP-Hy), and distance from the posterior nasal spine to the mandibular plane (P-MP). Ratios for each segment were also determined.RESULTS: Subjects with OSAS had longer P-Hy and MP-Hy than the control group. In particular, MP-Hy was significantly longer in the moderate-severe group than the other groups. In the OSAS group, there were significant correlations between MP-Hy, Ratio1, Ratio3 and m-Cor, s-Cor.CONCLUSION: Length of upper airway and ratio parameters of cephalometry may be more useful indices in moderate-severe OSA than absolute distance parameters, and Ratio1 may be valuable for prediction of activating HPA axis.