The nasal cycle and clinical examination of the nose

A recent study from this department demonstrated the importance of interobserver variation in examination of the nasal airways. Part of this variation may have been due to the mucosal changes of the nasal cycle. We investigated this suggestion and assessed the correlation between anterior rhinometry, a patient questionnaire and 4 different methods of recording the findings of clinical examination. Applying the Kappa statistic we found there was no significant reduction in interobserver variation despite eliminating nasal cycle influence.