Abstract:
Objectives:
Sensation of the nasal patency is the primary concern to the nasal patient while the
obstruction to the flow of air through the nose is the primary concern to the clinician who
try to manage it medically or surgically.
This study aims to evaluate the abilities of acoustic rhinometry as an objective tool in
detecting changes in the nasal cavity in different situations, to study the presence of a
correlation between the subjective sensation of nasal patency and acoustic rhinometry
measurements and to to find if the improvement of objective testing after surgery is
mirrored with a corresponding improvement in subjective sensation by patients.Study Design:
Prospective study
Methods:
This study was undertaken at ENT department, North Riding Infirmary, Middlesbrough,
UK. In 27 patients with a cause for nasal obstruction, a comparison between the
subjective sensation of nasal patency using the Visual Analogue Scale ( VAS ) and Acoustic Rhinometry ( AR ) as an objective method of assessment pre- and post-
operatively.
Results:
There were a 49% improvement in sensation of nasal patency, a 20.5% increase in the
Total Cross Sectional Area ( TCSA ) and a 29% increase in the Total Nasal Volume
( TNV ) postoperatively.
Conclusion:
In our study, there was no correlation between subjective sensation of nasal patency and
acoustic rhinometry measurements.