Aetiology and detection of congenital nasal deformities.

A total of 4724 newborns were screened for congenital nasal deformities with two simple tests which were performed by specialized nurses. Altogether 91 (1.9%) pathological cases were found. The parturients' external features and the course of the deliveries showed no differences from those of a control group, nor did the groups differ regarding features of the newborns. On the other hand, in the nasal deformity group, highly significantly (P less than 0.001) more cases of stuffy nose were found already during the first days after birth. In this study, no evidence of birth trauma as the cause of congenital nasal deformities was found. It is proposed that at least the majority of them originated during intrauterine life. The screening method was quite valid: every newborn who failed the screen tests showed some kind of nasal pathology and, on the other hand, those who passed had only minor deviations of the septum.