Using Cone Beam CT to Assess the Upper Airway After Surgery In
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Alsufyani et al. Journal of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery (2017) 46:31 DOI 10.1186/s40463-017-0204-4 ORIGINALRESEARCHARTICLE Open Access Using cone beam CT to assess the upper airway after surgery in children with sleep disordered breathing symptoms and maxillary-mandibular disproportions: a clinical pilot Noura A. Alsufyani1,5,6*, Michelle L. Noga2, Manisha Witmans1, Irene Cheng3, Hamdy El-Hakim4 and Paul W. Major1 Abstract Background: The surgical excision of anatomic obstructions such as adenoids, palatine or lingual tonsils are commonly performed in children with sleep disordered breathing (SDB). Imaging studies measuring airway changes post-surgery in the SDB pediatric population are scarce, rarely addresses the nasal cavity, and are based on global measures (e.g. volume) that do not represent the complexity of the upper airway anatomy. The purpose of this pilot is to test the feasibility in using cone beam CT (CBCT) to analyze the nasal and pharyngeal airway space post- surgery using meaningful methods of analyses, and correlating imaging findings with clinical outcomes in children with SDB symptoms and maxillary-mandibular disproportion. Methods: Twelve non-syndromic children with SDB symptoms and jaw disproportions were evaluated by interdisciplinary airway team before and after upper airway surgery. CBCT and OSA-18 quality of life questionnaire pre and post-operatively were completed. Conventional and new airway variables were measured based on 3D models of the upper airways and correlated with OSA-18. Conventional measures include volume, surface area, and cross-sectional area. New airway measures include constriction and patency; point-based analyses. Results: Eight females and four males were 8.8 ± 2 years with mean BMI of 18.7 ± 3. OSA-18 improved, median (lower quartile-upper quartile) from 64.2 (54.7–79.5) to 37.6 (28.7–43) postoperatively, p < 0.001. The median of all airway measures improved however with very wide range. Subjects with the smallest amounts of constriction relief and/or gain in airway patency presented with least improvement in OSA-18. New airway measures show strong correlation with changes in OSA-18 (ρ = 0.44 to 0.71) whereas conventional measures showed very weak correlation (ρ = −0.04 to 0.37). Conclusions: Using point-based analyses, new airway measures better explained changes in clinical symptoms compared to conventional measures. Airway patency gained by at least 150% and constriction relief by at least 15% showed marked improvement in OSA-18 by 40–55%, after surgery in the tested cohort. Keywords: Adenoidectomy, Tonsillectomy, Treatment outcome, Cone-beam computed tomography * Correspondence: [email protected] 1School of Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada 5Edmonton Clinic Health Academy- School of Dentistry, 5th floor, 11405-87 AVE NW, Edmonton T6G 1C9, AB, Canada Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © The Author(s). 2017 Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated. Alsufyani et al. Journal of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery (2017) 46:31 Page 2 of 10 Background Alberta. This tertiary center receives referrals from den- The role of anatomical obstruction (adenoid, tonsillar, tists or orthodontists in which the main concern of the and nasal turbinates hypertrophy, deviated septum, and subjects is maxillary-mandibular jaw disproportions with tongue position) on orthodontic changes and abnormal potential secondary SDB symptoms. As such, not many craniofacial growth are of continuous interest in the subjects undergo surgery. Based on the interdisciplinary otolaryngology and orthodontic literature [1–3]. Contro- evaluation of orthodontist, paediatric respirologist/sleep versies exist regarding the aetiology of paediatric sleep medicine specialist, and otolaryngology surgeon, the disordered breathing (SDB), but most accept anatomical subjects underwent nasal or pharyngeal surgery to obstruction of the upper airway as the most common remove anatomical obstructions. A validated Pediatric cause. Adenotonsillar hypertrophy is considered the Sleep Questionnaire (PSQ-22) and overnight pulse oxim- most important anatomic cause of such constriction etry can be used as screening tools to identify SDB when thus prompting the American Academy of Paediatrics' PSG is not feasible [12–14]. The diagnosis of SDB is recommendation of adenotonsillectomy (AT) as first line based on the history of nocturnal symptoms for at least of treatment [4]. However, AT is not as effective as 12 months, physical examination, overnight pulse oxim- previously thought with failure rates as high as 54% in etry, and Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire (PSQ-22) [15]. high-risk groups or comorbidities [5–7]. Information on All subjects completed PSQ-22 and OSA-18 quality of underlying pathophysiologic mechanisms leading to life questionnaires and underwent CBCT imaging, over- residual SDB are limited. Only one study quantified night pulse oximetry, awake nasoendoscopy & laryngos- volumetric changes using MRI in the paediatric upper copy and sleep endoscopy simultaneous with surgery. airway with OSA after AT in which an association OSA-18 questionnaire and CBCT imaging were also between residual adenoid tissue and low success rate of completed after surgery. The aim was to recall subjects AT by means of polysomnography was found [7]. by 6 months post-operatively to allow sufficient time for With its low radiation dose relative to multi-detector tissues to stabilize. CT, cone beam CT (CBCT) provides insights to the ana- tomical anomalies found along the upper airway and CBCT imaging craniofacial disproportions and has been used to meas- The scans were obtained using Next generation iCAT® ure anatomic airway changes with surgical and dental (Imaging Sciences International, Hatfield, PA) with appliance treatment for adult SDB/OSA [8]. However, 0.3 mm voxel, 4 s of exposure, 120 kVp, and 5 mA. The significant drawbacks were related to the questionable field of view extended from the Nasion superiorly to the accuracy of the reconstructed upper airway 3D models, chin inferiorly, the tip of the nose anteriorly and the lack of clinical correlation with CBCT measurements, bodies of cervical vertebrae posteriorly. Acquisition of and the use of global non-specific airway measure such CBCT scans was based on orthodontic reasons where as volume, linear, and cross-sectional area measurements conventional radiography failed to provide adequate [8, 9]. Unlike global measures, point-based analysis with information (e.g. maxillary constriction, anteroposterior color mapping better explained differences in 3D upper or vertical discrepancies in the maxilla or mandible, or airway models generated from CBCT [10]. Prospective asymmetry). These disproportions are believed to be studies analyzing the upper airway, by means of CBCT, contributing factors to the SDB symptoms in this cohort and correlating anatomical airway changes with surgical with the prospects of maxillary expansion or orthog- outcomes in the SDB pediatric population are lacking [8, nathic surgeries in their longer treatment plan justifying 11]. The aim of this clinical pilot is twofold: to prospect- the use of CBCT. The authors do not support the use of ively evaluate anatomical changes that occur in the CBCT for the sole purpose of airway analysis. upper airways before and after AT using 3D airway models from CBCT; and to evaluate whether changes in Upper airway analysis anatomical airway measures are reflected in the patient’s The upper airway region of interest (ROI) included the quality of life in a cohort of children/adolescents nasopharynx, oropharynx, and the nasal cavity (inferior presenting with jaw disproportions and SDB symptoms. and middle nasal meatus) and extends from the anterior nares to the level of anterior-inferior point of the body Methods of the third cervical vertebra (C3), details in Additional Subjects file 1: Figure S1. The ROI was segmented and recon- This study was approved by the Health Research Ethics structed into 3D model (ASCII STL format) using a Board at the University of Alberta. Thirteen consecutive semi-automatic program Segura©, developed and vali- non-syndromic children-adolescents with SDB symp- dated at the University of Alberta [10]. Using Mimics® toms were recruited from the Interdisciplinary Airway [Mimics 15.0, Materialise NV, Leuven, Belgium], pre- Clinic (IARC), Department of Dentistry, University of surgical (T1) and post-surgical (T2) CBCT image sets Alsufyani et al. Journal of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery (2017) 46:31 Page 3 of 10 were registered for each subject based on a previously Conventional and new airway variables are measures validated method using six anatomical landmarks [16]. before and after surgery, i.e. at T1 and T2, whereas part The 3D airway models were then imported and regis- comparison analysis provided the color map of 3D tered onto the “fused” CBCT image volumes using 10-