Clinically Small Tonsils Are Typically Not Obstructive in Children During Drug-Induced Sleep Endoscopy

Objective: To determine whether the degree of lateral pharyngeal wall (LPW) obstruction on pediatric drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE) correlates with preprocedure tonsillar hypertrophy score on physical examination, and to determine if clinically small tonsils are obstructive. Methods: Retrospective review of 154 patients who underwent DISE at a single pediatric tertiary care center over a 4-year period. Inclusion criteria were documentation of Brodsky tonsil score on preoperative physical examination. Exclusion criteria were previous tonsillectomy, adenoidectomy, or adenotonsillectomy. Lateral pharyngeal wall obstruction was graded for each patient from 0 (no obstruction) to 3 (severe obstruction) using a validated pediatric DISE scoring system known as the Chan-Parikh scoring system (C-P). Data were analyzed using multivariate linear regression controlling for age at time of DISE and presence of comorbid conditions. Results: One hundred fifteen patients met criteria for analysis. Median age at DISE was 5.1 years. A moderate positive correlation was calculated between Brodsky score and DISE score, Spearman correlation coefficient 0.55, P = < 0.001. Linear regression modeling determined that for every 1-point increase in tonsil score, there was a 0.7-point increase in C-P LPW score (95% confidence interval [0.45, 0.92]). Sensitivity analysis did not detect a difference in correlation between children with comorbid conditions and children who were otherwise in good health. Of the 65 children with a pre-DISE Brodsky tonsil score of 1, 39 (60%) had a LPW score of 0 (no obstruction); nine (14%) had a score of 1 (< 50% obstruction); 11 (17%) had a score of 2 (> 50% obstruction); and six (9%) had a score of 3 (100% obstruction). Conclusion: There is a positive correlation between Brodsky Score and DISE LPW score. The majority of children with sleep-disordered breathing with a Brodsky score of 1 did not demonstrate LPW obstruction. These children may benefit from DISE for identification of alternative sites of upper airway obstruction.