Association between morphometric variables and nocturnal desaturation in sickle-cell anemia

Objective to evaluate associations between morphometric variables,cervical circumference (cc),and abdominal circumference (ac) with the presence of nocturnal desaturation in children and adolescents with sickle-cell anemia. methods all patients were submitted to baseline polysomnography,oral cavity measurements (maxillary intermolar distance,mandibular intermolar distance,and overjet),and cc and ac measurements. results a total of 85 patients were evaluated. a positive correlation was observed between the height/age z-score and cc measurement (r = 0.233,p = 0.031). the presence of nocturnal desaturation was associated with cc (59.2± 9.3 vs. 67.5 ± 10.7,p = 0.006) and ac measurements (27.0 ± 2.0 vs. 29.0± 2.1,p = 0.028). there was a negative correlation between desaturation and maxillary intermolar distance (r = -0.365,p = 0.001) and mandibular intermolar distance (r = -0.233,p = 0.037). conclusions the morphometric variables of cc and ac may contribute to raise suspicion of nocturnal desaturation in children and adolescents with sickle-cell anemia. © 2014 sociedade brasileira de pediatria.