Shear-wave Elastography of Palatine Tonsils: A Normative Study in Children

BACKGROUND: Shear-wave elastography (SWE) was used to determine normal elasticity values of palatine tonsils (PTs) in children and adolescents who did not have any health problem, and the relationship between these values and various parameters influencing this result was examined. METHODS: The current prospective study has been approved by the local Institutional Review Board. Our study included 122 people aged 2–18 years. SWE values for both PTs, as well as gender, age, and body mass index (BMI), were recorded. The Kolmogorov–Smirnov test was used to determine whether the data had a normal distribution. Numerical variables with a normal distribution are reported as mean ± standard deviation, while variables with a nonnormal distribution are reported as medians with minimum and maximum values. Numbers and percentages are used to report categorical variables. RESULTS: The study group’s average age was 10.77 ± 4.35 years. The mean SWE values were 9.89 ± 2.494 kPa for the right PT and 9.57 ± 2.631 kPa for the left PT. Both PT volumes were found to be 1.6 ± 0.9 mm(3). There was no significant correlation between the SWE values obtained and age, height, weight, and BMI. Tonsil dimensions show a positive correlation with age, height, weight, and BMI. CONCLUSION: PT dimensions have a positive correlation with age, height, weight, and BMI, but not with SWE values. SWE may be a reliable diagnostic criterion independent of anthropometric values.