Demographics and clinical history
Fifty-seven (47%) of the patients were female and 64 (53%) were male (p=0.52). The mean age was 16.6 ± 5.4 years, and the median age at diagnosis was 7 (1 month - 20 years) years. Forty-two (34.7%) patients had situs inversus and these patients had a lower median age at diagnosis (3.5 vs. 8 years, p<0.001). Other characteristics are detailed in table 1. The departments that most frequently suggested the diagnosis were pediatric pulmonology (74.4%) and general pediatrics (19.8%), while the ENT physician asserted the diagnosis in only 2 (1.7%) patients (Figure 1). The definitive diagnosis was made by the pediatric pulmonology department in 112 (92.6%) patients, by the general pediatrics in 8 (6.6%), and by the ENT department in 1 (0.8%) patient.
In our cohort, no significant relation was found between sex and situs inversus, LRTI, or otolaryngological manifestations such as AOM, OME, COM, ARS, CRS (p>0.27). Moreover, except for situs inversus, no statistically significant correlation was observed between any of these manifestations and the age at diagnosis. While the mean age of patients with LRTI was lower (16 vs. 20 years, p=0.009), the mean age of patients with ARS (18 vs. 16 years, p=0.045) and CRS (19 vs. 16 years, p=0.028) was higher than those without (Table 2). Also, there was a weak negative correlation between age and the number of LRTIs (r= -0.245, p=0.007), while the annual number of ARS was positively correlated with age (r= 0.170, p=0.06). Negative correlations between the age at first ARS with the annual number of ARS (r= -0.457, p=0.006); and the age at first AOM with the annual number of AOM (r= -0.473, p<0.001) were revealed.