Quality of life and posture in mouth breathing children before and after adenotonsillectomy

Abstract

Introduction: Mouth breathing is a multifactorial syndrome, mainly caused by the enlarged adenoids and tonsils. The upper airway’s obstruction causes disturbances of the stomatognathic system leading to changes in breathing, posture and quality of life of these children. The adenotonsillectomy is the first-choice treatment option. Objective: To evaluate the quality of life and head posture of children before (PRE group) and after (POST group) the surgical intervention to remove the tonsils and/or adenoids. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study with 41 children between 7 and 12 years. The OSA-18 quality of life questionnaire was answered by those responsible for children. On the same day were taken photographs, which were later analysed by the SAPO® software. For statistical analysis we used Student t-test or Mann-Whitney rank sum test, according to the data distribution (Kolmogorov Smirnov). Data were analysed with the software SigmaStat 3.1 and the differences were considered significant when P<0.05. Results: Were evaluated 15 children in PRE group (9.13 ± 1.55 years) and 26 in POST group (10.15 ± 1.31 years). The impact on quality of life scores were lower in POST group (p <0.001). According to the questionnaire classification scoring system, PRE and POST groups were classified as “moderate” and “little” impact on quality of life, respectively. The postural assessment variables showed no statistically significant difference. Conclusion: Mouth breathing children who underwent adenotonsillectomy show a better quality of life. There is no difference in head and neck postural characteristics between operated and non-operated mouth breathing children.