[Nasal provocation using histamine. A comparison of threshold determination using 3 methods of rhinomanometry]

Three methods of rhinomanometry were compared with each other with respect to their ability to determine the histamine threshold (histamine concentration for a 100% increase of the initial total nasal resistance): the active anterior rhinomanometry (AAR), the active posterior rhinomanometry (APR) and the passive anterior rhinomanometry (PAR). Nasal challenge and consecutive measurement by the three methods of rhinomanometry were conducted in a group of 11 volunteers. The three methods gave significantly different histamine concentration thresholds (p = 0.002). Unilateral histamine thresholds as available from AAR and PAR (at a flow of 250 cm3/sec) did not differ significantly (p = 0.299). For AAR and APR, histamine thresholds were assessed at 5 different pressure values as well as at 5 different flow values. The thresholds did not appear to be significantly different at any one of those pressure gradients (p = 0.690) or flow values (p = 0.357).