Abstract

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate if the presence or angle of nasal septal deviation is affected by mode of delivery in children patients.

METHODS: We scanned the Picture Archiving and Communication System database of our radiology clinic retrospectively for the last five years. We evaluated the paranasal, maxillofacial or temporal bone computed tomography images of a total of 226 patients (100 males, 126 females; mean age 3.4±3.8 years; range, 0 to 16 years) that were performed with different indications. We excluded those with any history of nasal surgery or facial trauma. We evaluated patients’ mode of delivery and presence of nasal septal deviation on the images. We measured the angle and distance of deviation with respect to the midline.

RESULTS: Of the patients, 131 (%58.0) were delivered normally and 83 (36.7%) were delivered by cesarean section while 12 (5.3%) patients’ mode of delivery was not accessed. We detected septal deviation in a total of 85 (37.6%) patients. We detected septal deviation in 46 (35.11%) of 131 children delivered normally and in 34 (40.96%) of 83 children delivered by cesarean section. Although we could not find any statistically significant correlation between mode of delivery and presence, angle or distance of septal deviation to the midline, we detected a statistically significantly positive correlation between presence of deviation and age (p<0.001).

CONCLUSION: According to our study findings, mode of delivery is not effective on prevalence of childhood septal deviation.