Abstract:

Objective    To discuss the characters of children upper airway structure with sleep apnea and hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination. Methods    30 primary snoring (PS) and 30 OSAHS children were recruited from the pool of patients evaluated at Qingdao Municipal hospital, and 30 normal children were selected as controls. They were performed space measurement and soft tissue measurement respectively with MRI examination. Results    ① For space measurement, significant differences of nasopharynx airway, oralpharynx airway, palatopharyngeal airway and oblique diameter of the airway were detected among the three groups (P＜0.05). ② For soft tissue measurement, no significant difference of the crosssection area of the tongue was found (P＞0.05). The cross-section area of the adenoid was bigger and the length of the adenoid was longer in the OSAHS group than in the PS and control groups (P＜0.05). The cross-section area of the bilateral tonsils in the OSAHS and PS groups were bigger than in the control group(P＜0.05). Conclusion    MRI examination can be used as a primary method for diagnosis of children sleep order.

Key words: Obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome； Children, Magnetic resonance imaging