Clinical Research Directory

Evaluation of the Effects of Adenoidectomy and Adenotonsillectomy on Voice in Children

This prospective study aims to evaluate the effects of adenoidectomy and adenotonsillectomy on voice and speech functions in children. Changes in voice quality and resonance may occur after the removal of adenoid and tonsillar tissues, particularly in pediatric patients with enlarged adenoids or tonsils. Objective voice assessments, including acoustic, aerodynamic, and nasalance measurements, as well as subjective voice-related quality of life questionnaires, will be performed before surgery and at the first and third months after surgery. The results of this study are expected to help clinicians better inform families about possible voice changes following adenoidectomy and adenotonsillectomy procedures.

Evaluation of the Effect of Adenoid Hypertrophy on the Masseter Muscle in Children: A Comparative Ultrasonographic Study

The goal of this observational study is to evaluate the effect of adenoid hypertrophy on the masseter muscle in children aged 3 to 8 years. The primary objectives are: * To assess whether adenoid hypertrophy affects the thickness or structure of the masseter muscle. * To determine whether there is a measurable difference in masseter muscle characteristics between children with and without adenoid hypertrophy. Researchers will compare children diagnosed with adenoid hypertrophy and scheduled for adenoidectomy to healthy controls without adenoid hypertrophy. Each participant will: * Undergo ultrasonographic examination of the masseter muscle using a 9L linear probe (6-15 MHz), and * Have their occlusal relationship, dental findings, age, sex, and adenoid hypertrophy grade recorded.

Metabolomic Profiling of Racial Disparity

Tonsillectomy ± adenoidectomy (T\&A) is one of the most common surgical operations with over 500,000 pediatric T\&As performed annually in the United States. Unfortunately, despite advances in anesthetic and surgical techniques, moderate-severe post-tonsillectomy pain (PTP) remains a significant problem affecting up to 62% of children. PTP is thought to arise from pharyngeal mucosal inflammation, which produces local nerve irritation and pharyngeal muscle spasm. Patient factors and surgical techniques also play major roles. Race is an important phenotypic risk factor for moderately severe early PTP. The underlying molecular basis of this differential pain experience is presently unknown. This gap in knowledge means that therapies are poorly targeted and often unsuccessful. Indeed, treatment options for PTP have not advanced substantively for many years. Metabolomics provides novel opportunities to investigate common and unique "metabolic signature" of PTP through the analysis of low molecular weight compounds produced in response to tissue injury. Therefore, the central themes of this proposal are that (1) PTP is a complex process that may be determined by molecular level factors such as preoperative systemic inflammation and metabolic profile, and (2) these molecular level factors may explain the excess burden of PTP among minority children. Here the investigators seek to utilize a combined clinical, biological and untargeted metabolomics approach to identify candidate small and large serum molecules that may influence the frequency and severity of PTP in children across racial groups. This approach to exploring the molecular basis of PTP is novel and knowledge from the study should substantially enhance understanding of the mechanisms underlying pediatric PTP - and narrow the racial disparities in post-operative pain.

It is Accepted That Adenoid Hypertrophy is Related to Otitis Media With Effusion Incidence. Better Understanding of the Correlation Between the Relative Size of AH and the Incidence of Persistent OME May Provide Evidence to Support a More Standardized Approach to the Diagnosis and Treatment of OME.

The aim of this study is to further investigate the correlation between Site and size of adenoid hypertrophy and middle ear effusion in order to provide evidence for designing a more standardized approach to the diagnosis and treatment of OME.