Patient characteristics
| Population | Pectus excavatum (n=30) | Pectus carinatum (n=46) | P value |
| Male gender, n (%) | 28 (93.3) | 43 (93.5) | >0.99* |
| Age in years, mean (±SD) | 13.8 (±2.0) | 14.5 (±1.7) | 0.15# |
| Height for age in Z score, mean (±SD) | 0.93 (±1.01) | 0.84 (±0.92) | 0.69# |
| Weight for age in Z score, mean (±SD) | −0.001 (±0.76) | 0.01 (±0.86) | 0.92# |
| Span in cm, mean (±SD) | 169.8 (±17.0) | 172.7 (±11.4) | 0.42# |
| Span/height ratio, mean (±SD) | 1.01 (±0.02) | 1.01 (±0.03) | 0.40# |
| Spinal deformity, n (%) | 5 (16.6) | 14 (30.4) | |
| Scoliosis, n (%) | 3 (10.0) | 8 (17.4) | 0.51* |
| Kyphosis, n (%) | 2 (6.6) | 6 (13) | 0.47* |
| Familial history of pectus, n (%) | 13 (43) | 16 (34.8) | 0.48* |
| Pectus characteristics | |||
| Anteroposterior measure in cm, mean (±SD) | 5.7 (±1.4) | 10.1 (±1.3) | <0.001# |
| Transverse measure in cm, mean (±SD) | 24.5 (±2.5) | 24.2 (±1.7) | 0.53# |
| Haller index, mean (±SD) | 4.62 (±1.33) | 2.44 (±0.32) | <0.001# |
| Sternal angle in degrees, mean (±SD) | 12.22 (±9.77) | 8.49 (±6.38) | 0.09# |
| Thoracic symptoms | 10 (33) | 14 (30.43) | 0.80* |
| Pain at rest, n (%) | 6 (20.0) | 7 (15.2) | 0.76* |
| Exertion dyspnoea, n (%) | 4 (13.3) | 8 (17.4) | 0.75* |
Comparison between the groups was performed with the Fisher’s exact test (*) or with the t-test (#).