Ultrasonic Image Characteristics of Palatine Tonsils in Healthy Children and Analysis of Factors Influencing Image Quality.

Objective: To explore the ultrasonic image characteristics of palatine tonsils in healthy children and the factors affecting image quality.

Methods: A total of 750 images of palatine tonsils were collected from 375 healthy children. According to ultrasonic image quality, the images were divided into three groups. Both systemic and local factors were analyzed among the different groups.

Results: The palatine tonsils showed quasi-circular or flat oval, low echo or light and dark band arrangement, a striped medium echo, and a clear boundary. Age, height, weight, body mass index, body surface area, distance from the skin to the posterior margin of the tonsils, thickness of the anterior soft tissue of the tonsils, and thickness of the anterior submandibular gland of the tonsils were significantly different among the different image quality groups (p < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that height, weight, thickness of the anterior soft tissue of the tonsils, and thickness of the anterior submandibular gland of the tonsils were independent factors affecting the quality of the ultrasonic images of the palatine tonsils.

Conclusions: There are characteristic ultrasonic image manifestations of the palatine tonsils. Tonsil ultrasound image quality is affected by individual and local factors.