Assessment of the uvulo-glossopharyngeal dimensions in patients with β-thalassemia major

Abstract

Objectives: Thalassemia patients present varying degrees of craniofacial characteristics, while the morphology of the upper airway is less studied. The purpose of this study was to compare the uvula-glossopharyngeal dimensions (UGDs) of patients with β-thalassemia major (BTM) with non-thalassemic subjects who had similarities in the maxillo-mandibular skeletal pattern.

Subjects and methods: The material for this cross-sectional retrospective study consisted of lateral cephalograms of 40 BTM patients (23 males, 17 females, aged 9.5 ± 0.97 years). These were compared with lateral cephalograms of a control group of 40 non-thalassemic subjects (23 males, 17 females, aged 11.0 ± 0.87 years). The control group was chosen so that they had similarities with the BTM patients in the following cephalometric variables: SNA (in degree), SNB (in degree), ANB (in degree), and anterior facial height (N-Me).

Results: The following UGDs in thalassemic subjects were significantly shorter in patients with BTM: tongue length (P < 0.05), the distance between the hyoid bone and the mandibular plane (P < 0.01), and the vertical distance between hyoid bone and the C3-RGN line (line connecting third vertebra and retrognathion) (P < 0.05). The middle airway space in BTM patients was significantly wider (P < 0.05), and a trend was observed for the wider inferior airway space (P = 0.07).

Conclusions: Based on this study, some UGDs in BTM patients were significantly different, compared to non-thalassemic subjects who had a similar maxillo-mandibular skeletal pattern. These findings may have implications for the long-term treatment of BTM patients; however, since groups were not exactly age-matched, the observed differences between groups could be attributed to either BTM, age, or both. Additional studies with age-matched subjects are needed to investigate the relationship between BTM and UGDs.