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Measurement of the lengths of different sections of the upper airway and their predictive factors

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Abstract

Background

No studies have been conducted to define the lengths of the upper airway’s different segments in normal healthy adults.

Aims/Objectives

This study aimed to determine the length of the subglottis and extrathoracic trachea and the factors affecting it.

Material and methods

This was an observational retrospective review study. Included 102 adult patients who underwent CT scan during the quiet inspiration phase of the upper airway.

Results

The results revealed significant positive linear relationships between height and both anterior and posterior subglottic measurements (p < 0.001). Additionally, a statistically significant, moderately strong negative correlation between age and extrathoracic tracheal measurements (p > 0.001) was observed. Men exhibited longer anterior (p < 0.001) and posterior (p > 0.001) subglottic measurements. In both sexes, the average length of the anterior subglottis was 14.16 (standard deviation [SD]: 2.72) mm, posterior subglottis was 14.51 (SD: 2.85) mm and extrathoracic trachea was 66.37 (SD: 13.71) mm.

Conclusion and significance

We concluded that a normal healthy adult’s anterior subglottis length is 6.3–19.3 mm (mean: 14.16 [SD: 2.72] mm), posterior subglottis length is 6.1–20.0 mm (mean: 14.51 [SD: 2.85] mm) and extrathoracic trachea length is 25.2–98.5 mm (mean: 66.37 [SD: 13.71] mm). Age, height and sex affected the upper airway length.

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Data availability

The study’s supporting data can be obtained upon request from the study’s corresponding author. Due to restrictions on information that would adversely impact the research participants’ privacy, the data are not publicly available.

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Funding

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery, King Saud University Medical City, College of Medicine, King Saud University, 11411, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Saleh Alqaryan, Abdulaziz Alrabiah, Khaled Alhussinan, Mohammed Alyousef, Faisal Alosamey, Yousef Aljathlany, Abdullah Aljasser, Manal Bukhari, Mohammed Almohizea, Khalid Alqahtani & Ahmed Alammar

  2. Department of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery, Prince Sultan Military Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Abdulaziz Alrabiah

  3. Department of Radiology, King Saud University Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Adeena Khan

  4. Division of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Surgery, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Saleh Alqaryan

  5. Otorhinolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Security Forces Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Abdullah Aljasser

Authors
  1. Saleh Alqaryan
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  2. Abdulaziz Alrabiah
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  4. Mohammed Alyousef
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  9. Mohammed Almohizea
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  10. Adeena Khan
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  11. Khalid Alqahtani
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  12. Ahmed Alammar
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Contributions

Saleh Alqaryan, Faisal Alosaimey, Abdulaziz Alrabiah, Khaled Alhussinan, Mohammed Alyousef all collected data, established methodology, formal analysis, wrote the manuscript. Yousef Aljathlany, Abdullah Aljasser, Manal bukhari, Mohammed Almohaizea, Khalid Alqahtani, Ahmed Alammar all supervised the work and formulated research idea. Adeena Khan worked on the radiological imaging revision and figures editing All authors reviewed manuscripts

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Khaled Alhussinan.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

Consent to participate declarations

Consent to participate was waived due to retrospective nature of the study.

Ethical approval

The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, the KSU-IRB Guidelines, The Law of Ethics of Research on Living Creatures, and the protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of King Saud University with IRB Project No. E-19-4394.

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Alqaryan, S., Alrabiah, A., Alhussinan, K. et al. Measurement of the lengths of different sections of the upper airway and their predictive factors. Surg Radiol Anat (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-024-03345-6

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