Importance of nasal fiberoptic examination in the presence of a normal X-ray of the cavum

A total of 45 children aged 4-12 years were studied at the Rhinosinusology out-patient clinic of HCFMRP. The patients complained of marked nasal obstr uction refractory to any clinical treatment, and a cavum X-ray showed no si gn of airway obstruction. All children were submitted to nasal fiberoptic e xamination in order to determine the number of false-negative results. The examinations showed 12 cases of severe hypertrophy of adenoid vegetations ( 27%) and 19 cases of moderate hypertrophy (42%). Furthermore, we detected s ix cases of hypertrophy of the turbinate cauda (13.3%) and three cases of p osterior septal deviation (6.6%). These data suggest the importance of the indication of this examination, which permits a tri-dimensional and dynamic evaluation of the cavum area. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All r ights reserved.