Evaluation of olfactory bulbus volume and olfactory sulcus depth development with 3 Tesla MRI in childhood

Abstract

Background: In this study, it is aimed to reveal the change in OBV and OSD in healthy Turkish pediatric individuals between 1 month and 18 years of age with 3 Tesla MRI taking into account different age groups and gender factors.

Materials and methods: In this retrospective study, 190 pediatric individuals who underwent cranial MRI were evaluated. Healthy pediatric cases were divided into four groups as infantile period (first 24 months when cerebral myelinization was completed), early childhood (2-6 years), childhood (6-12 years) and adolescence (12-18 years). OBV and OSD measurements were performed on coronal T2-weighted brain MR images by 3T MR scan. The mean, right and left olfactory bulb volume and sulcus depths were used for evaluation.

Results: The mean age was 9.9 ± 7.5 months for the infantile period, 4.5 ± 1.3 years for early childhood, 9.3 ± 1.7 years for childhood and 15.2 ± 1.7 years for adolescence. Mean, right and left OBV was found to be slightly larger in male children than female children (P= 0.015, P= 0.033 and P= 0.010, respectively). There was no statistical difference between the genders for mean, right and left OSD (P= 0.559, P= 0.536 and P= 0.598, respectively). Among the age groups, the values of the 3rd and 4th groups in terms of mean, right and left OBV were higher than the other two groups (P<0.001). In terms of OSD, mean, right and left values were higher in group 2, 3 and 4 than group one (P<0.001).

Conclusions: These data differ by pediatric age group and gender for the development of OBV and OSD. Normal values for the pediatric age group and gender should be calculated to detect olfactory dysfunction.