Nasal nitric oxide in children with adenoidal hypertrophy: a preliminary study.

OBJECTIVE

Nasal nitric oxide, a mediator involved in upper airway inflammation, is impaired in children with allergic rhinitis and rhinosinusitis. Normal values are 200-450 parts per billion, but no data are available concerning its levels in children with adenoidal obstruction, predisposing to chronic nasosinusal inflammation. This study aimed to: (1) measure nasal nitric oxide levels in non-allergic children with adenoidal hypertrophy and (2) assess its possible relationship with the degree of adenoidal hypertrophy and other variable (gender, age, body max index, passive smoking exposure, recurrent acute otitis media, recurrent respiratory infections, and hypertrophy of nasal turbinates).

METHODS

Eighty-one children with suspected adenoidal hypertrophy underwent nasal fibroendoscopy to assess the degree of adenoidal hypertrophy, and nasal nitric oxide on-line measurements by means of a dedicated chemiluminescence analyser.

RESULTS

Nasal nitric oxide was successfully measured in 35 patients, most of whom had levels >450 parts per billion; the values were significantly higher (p=0.031) in children with non-obstructive adenoids. There was no significant correlation with any other variable.

CONCLUSIONS

Preliminary data show above-normal nasal nitric oxide levels in children with adenoidal hypertrophy, especially those with non-obstructive adenoids. This suggests nitric oxide involvement in recurrent nasopharyngeal inflammation due to adenoidal hypertrophy.