Hypertrophy of the palatine tonsils and sleep respiratory disorders.

A simplified method for the diagnosis of sleep respiratory disorders in children was explored on the basis of visual inspection. The subjects were 31 children suffering from symptoms of upper airway constriction. Polysomnography was carried out on all patients to measure the mesopharyngeal pressure amplitude (MPA). The patients were divided into the following four groups: Group A (degree I hypertrophy at rest), Group B (degree II hypertrophy both at rest and during pharyngeal reflex), Group C (degree II hypertrophy at rest and degree III hypertrophy during pharyngeal reflex), and Group D (degree II hypertrophy at rest, accompanied by forward protrusion from the anterior faucial pillar). The MPA values were 26.0 +/- 13.7, 39.2 +/- 18.3, 86.9 +/- 36.4 and 84.6 +/- 16.3 cmH(2)O in Groups A, B, C and D, respectively. The MPA values in Groups C and D were significantly higher than those in Groups A and B. The result of this study suggest that the MPA values are high and sleep respiratory disorders severe in cases from Groups C and D. The severity of sleep respiratory disorders in children was estimated to a considerable extent by checking these parameters.