Evaluation of Normative Tonsils Size in Sudanese Children by Using Ultrasound

Abstract

Defining the normal value of the palatine tonsil size among the young Sudanese population is essential for a reliable evaluation of children with enlargement or signs and symptoms of tonsil disease. An ultrasound measurement was therefore under taken to determine the normal range of the tonsil diameter among Sudanese children. The purpose of this study was to investigate a large ultrasound imaging study to evaluate the normal size of the tonsil during development of children using height and transverse diameters in which it’s diameter in centimeter was assumed to equal the age of child in years, also to show the effect of the increase size of inflamed tonsil in the vascularity of it. A total of 100 normal children and 50 patients with tonsillar diseases acute/chronic tonsillitis, recurrent tonsillitis and peritonsillar abscess were recruited in this study. On ultrasound scan the height, transverse diameters and Doppler blood flow of the tonsils where obtained from each subject and the data were analyzed with excel and specific package of social statistics version 14 (SPSS). The study showed correlation between measured height diameter in centimeter and the age of child in years in which the correlation (R²= 0.788). The ANOVA-test for significant showed a significant difference between the normal height diameter in centimeter and corresponding age in years at p=0.05 which was differ from the right to the left tonsil, moreover within the same age group, moreover the paired t-test for significance showed difference which was statically significant at (p>0.0001) and (R²= 0.788) this means that it can’t be practically used to estimation of the tonsils size throughout childhood. The study showed strong correlation between measured transverse diameter in centimeter and the age of child in years in which the correlation R²= 0.803. The ANOVA-test for significant showed a significant difference between the measured transverse diameter in centimeter and corresponding age in years at p=0.05, but however the paired t-test for significance showed

no difference which was statically significant at (p<0.003) and (R²= 0.803) thus it can be used as a predictor for estimation of the tonsils size during childhood. The study also showed a strong correlation between the measured height and transverse diameters of inflamed tonsil and the Doppler blood flow in it in which the correlation R²=0.300 and 0.839 respectively, but the ANOVA test for significance showed insignificant effect between the estimation of height diameter of the tonsil and Doppler blood flow at (p=0.532) and showed significant effect between the estimation of transverse diameter of the tonsil and Doppler blood flow at (p< 0.022) thus the transverse diameter can be used with confidence in evaluation of the vascularity of the tonsil