Does Adenoid Hypertrophy Increase the Risk of Orbital Complication in Children with Acute Sinusitis?

Adenoid hypertrophy (AH) plays a role as a reservoir for bacterial growth and decreases mucociliary clearance which might contribute to the development of an infection. To compare the presence of AH in the pediatric population presenting with orbital complications as a result of ABRS and the control group radiologically. Patients who were diagnosed with OC as a result of ABRS labeled as case group, and the patients who had undergone computed tomography (CT) for indications other than sinonasal diseases were assigned as control group. Both groups were retrospectively reviewed to measure the adenoid, nasopharynx, and adenoid/nasopharynx ratio (ANR) in the axial and mid-sagittal planes. We compared 52 patients from case group to 57 control group. In the CT axial plane, adenoid length was greater in the OC group compared to the control group, with a significant difference ( p- value = 0.02) of 14.2 ± 3.5 mm compared to 11.2 ± 7 mm, respectively. The ANRs were 2.9 in the OC group and 2.8 in the control group, with a p -value of 0.089. In the mid-sagittal plane, only the anteroposterior length was significantly greater in the OC group, with a mean of 19.9 ± 5.3 mm compared to 15.2 ± 8.8 mm in the control group ( p -value = 0.007). The process of inflammation increased the anteroposterior length of the adenoids. However, the ANR was similar between the two groups, indicating that adenoid hypertrophy is not directly related as a risk factor for OC in pediatric patients with ARBS.