Quantitative Ultrasonographic Evaluation of Tonsil Volume and Its Anthropometric Determinants in adults

Background To investigate the impact of demographic, anthropometric, and clinical factors such as age, gender, BMI, Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and neck circumference on tonsil hypertrophy using ultrasonographic assessment. Method: The present cross-sectional study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital in Karachi from January to July 2021. Fifty-four adults aged 18-60 with enlarged tonsils participated. Exclusion criteria included ages outside this range, trauma, surgical tonsil excision, pregnancy, and lactation. Participants provided informed consent and principal investigator completed a proforma taking demographic data, physical examination, Brodsky tonsil grading, ESS scoring, BMI calculation, and neck circumference measurement. Ultrasonographic assessment of tonsil volume was performed using a Toshiba Aplio 500 machine with a 13.6 MHz probe. Statistical analysis was conducted using IBM© SPSS© version 23, with significance set at p ≤ 0.05. Results The mean age of participants was calculated to be 25.72 ± 7.9 years, with 29 males and 25 females. Significant associations were found between tonsil volume and gender, neck circumference, BMI, and ESS scores. Females and individuals with larger neck circumferences or higher BMI had significantly larger tonsil volumes. Higher ESS scores correlated with increased tonsil volume, suggesting a link between daytime sleepiness and tonsil hypertrophy. Conclusion Ultrasonographic assessment showed significant links between tonsil volume and gender, neck circumference, BMI, and ESS scores, suggesting ultrasound and neck circumference measurements as effective tools for diagnosing enlarged tonsils. Further research with larger, diverse populations is needed.