A retrospective analysis of adenoidal size in children with allergic rhinitis and nonallergic idiopathic rhinitis.

BACKGROUND Increased incidence of adenoidal tissue enlargement in children with allergic rhinitis (AR) when compared to non-atopic children had been reported. However, data with respect to the comparison of adenoidal size in children with AR and non-allergic idiopathic rhinitis (IR) is still lacking in the literature. OBJECTIVE We aimed to compare the size of the adenoid in children with AR and with nonallergic IR. METHODS Adenoid/nasopharynx ratios (ANR) of all children were calculated in both AR and IR patients and the mean ratios were compared. RESULTS There were 52 patients in the AR group and 56 patients in the nonallergic IR group. Demographic data were similar within the two groups. The mean ANR was 0.59 +/- 0.08 in AR group, whereas it was 0.77 +/- 0.12 in nonallergic IR group. The ANR was very significantly high in the nonallergic IR patients (p = 0.0001). CONCLUSION Our results suggest that there could be a cellular immune deficiency in allergic children which effects the enlargement of the pharyngeal tonsils. This might be explained with the hypothesis that allergic patients have a deficiency in T-helper 1 cell activity and interferon-gamma production. Larger studies which compare the cytokine profiles of children with AR and with nonallergic IR, will clarify the role of recurrent respiratory infection which is a real problem in clinical practice with allergy.