The prevalence and effects of pectus excavatum and pectus carinatum on the respiratory function in children between 7-14 years old

The study involved 1342 primary school students aged 7-14 years who applied to Ankara, a primary care center for general health check-up between 2006 and 2007. Forty-three students, 35 of whom had PE and 8 of whom had PC, were subjected to thorax measurement. All 43 students underwent pulmonary function tests (PFT).The prevalence rate of PC was 0.6%, and of PE, 2.6%. The thorax widths of the groups were similar (P=0.273). The thorax circumference and depth of PE group were lower than those of the controls (P<0.05). The probability rate of abnormality in PFT scores of PE group was statistically significantly higher than that of the controls (P=0.022) whereas absence of normal PFT scores the difference between PC group and the controls was not statistically significant (p=0.095). The results indicate that more than half of the individuals with pectus deformity do not have any physical complaints and do not have statistically significant differences in their PFT parameters. © 2010 Dr. K C Chaudhuri Foundation.