Key Points:
- The distance anteriorly from the tragus to a plane perpendicular to
the philtrum is a reliable method of estimating nasopharyngeal depth
- The average nasopharyngeal depth in adult men is 10.1 cm and 9.4 cm in
adult women
- Nasopharyngeal depth prediction based on the distance along the
curvature of the face from the tragus to the alar-facial groove
results in an overestimation of 2 cm regardless of patient sex.
- The tragus-to-philtrum coronal plane distance has nearly a 1:1 ratio
with the nasopharyngeal depth
- The association between tragus-to-philtrum coronal plane distance and
nasopharyngeal depth is persistent regardless the sex and ethnicity.