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Objective assessment of nasal obstruction.
1Professorial Unit, Institute of Laryngology and Otology, London, England.
Otolaryngologic Clinics of North America
|April 1, 1989
Summary
Objective tests for nasal obstruction assessment are historically challenging due to nasal fluctuations. Current methods like active rhinomanometry have drawbacks, hindering routine clinical use despite ongoing development interest.
Area of Science:
- Otolaryngology
- Medical Device Technology
- Respiratory Physiology
Background:
- Assessing nasal obstruction objectively has been a long-standing challenge.
- Physiological and pathological nasal changes complicate accurate measurement.
- Existing techniques for evaluating nasal obstruction present significant limitations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review current objective testing methods for nasal obstruction.
- To highlight the limitations and drawbacks of existing techniques.
- To discuss the potential applications of a reliable nasal obstruction assessment tool.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on objective tests for nasal obstruction.
- Discussion of commonly used methods such as active rhinomanometry (anterior and posterior).
- Enumeration of alternative techniques including plethysmography, peak expiratory flow rate, and rhinostereometry.
Main Results:
- Active rhinomanometry, particularly the anterior method, is widely used but has drawbacks.
- A variety of other objective tests exist, but none are in routine clinical use.
- Significant challenges remain in developing a universally reliable method.
Conclusions:
- No single objective method for nasal obstruction assessment is currently in routine clinical use.
- Further research and development are needed to create a reliable technique.
- A validated method would greatly benefit pre- and post-therapeutic evaluations.