Evaluation of nasal patency by acoustic rhinometry after repair of complete unilateral cleft lip and palate

Figures & data

Figure 1. An example of an acoustic rhinometry trace, with nasal cross-sectional area along the x-axis and distance from the wave tube along the y-axis. MCA = minimal cross-sectional area; VOL = nasal volume.

Table I. Acoustic rhinometry measurements of the cleft side and non-cleft side in 38 children with repaired complete unilateral CLP.

Variable	Cleft side (n = 38)	Non-cleft side (n = 38)	p-value*
MCA, cm^2
Segment 1	0.28 ± 0.12	0.48 ± 0.13	< 0.001
Segment 2	0.52 ± 0.28	0.91 ± 0.30	< 0.001
Nasal volume, cm^3
Segment 1	1.13 ± 0.23	1.43 ± 0.30	< 0.001
Segment 2	4.67 ± 1.74	5.97 ± 1.87	< 0.001

Values are expressed as mean ± standard deviation. CLP = cleft lip and palate; MCA = minimal cross-sectional area; Segment 1 = distance measured from the nostril opening to 2.20 cm into the nasal cavity; Segment 2 = distance measured from 2.21–5.40 cm into the nasal cavity, as the valve and the turbinate are located in this anatomical region.

*Statistical significance by the Student t-test.

Table III. Comparison of acoustic rhinometry measurements of the non-cleft side in 38 children with repaired complete unilateral CLP and the mean value of the two nostrils of 21 control children without CLP.

Variable	Non-cleft side (n = 38)	Control group (n = 21)	p-value*
MCA, cm^2
Segment 1	0.48 ± 0.13	0.50 ± 1.00	0.429
Segment 2	0.91 ± 0.30	0.83 ± 2.40	0.320
Nasal volume, cm^3
Segment 1	1.43 ± 0.30	1.52 ± 1.90	0.175
Segment 2	5.97 ± 1.87	5.53 ± 0.98	0.244

Values are expressed as mean ± standard deviation. CLP = cleft lip and palate; MCA = minimal cross-sectional area; Segment 1 = distance measured from the nostril opening to 2.20 cm into the nasal cavity; Segment 2 = distance measured from 2.21–5.40 cm into the nasal cavity, as the valve and the turbinate are located in this anatomical region.

*Statistical significance by the Student t-test.

Table II. Comparison of acoustic rhinometry measurements of the cleft side in 38 children with repaired complete unilateral CLP and the mean value of the two nostrils of 21 control children without CLP.

Variable	Cleft side (n = 38)	Control group (n = 21)	p-value*
MCA, cm^2
Segment 1	0.28 ± 0.12	0.50 ± 1.00	< 0.001
Segment 2	0.52 ± 0.28	0.83 ± 2.40	< 0.001
Nasal volume, cm^3
Segment 1	1.13 ± 0.23	1.52 ± 1.90	< 0.001
Segment 2	4.67 ± 1.74	5.53 ± 0.98	0.042

Values are expressed as mean ± standard deviation. CLP = cleft lip and palate; MCA = minimal cross-sectional area; Segment 1 = distance measured from the nostril opening to 2.20 cm into the nasal cavity; Segment 2 = distance measured from 2.21–5.40 cm into the nasal cavity, as the valve and the turbinate are located in this anatomical region.

* Statistical significance by the Student t-test.