Linking Chronic Otitis Media and Nasal Obstruction: A CFD Approach

Area of Science:

• Otolaryngology
• Biomedical Engineering
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Chronic otitis media (COM) is a prevalent condition affecting the middle ear.
• The role of nasal airflow in the pathogenesis of COM remains incompletely understood.
• Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) offers advanced methods for analyzing airflow dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the potential association between altered nasal airflow and the presence of COM.
• To utilize CFD to quantify and compare nasal airflow parameters in COM patients versus controls.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective case series design was employed.
• CT scans from 60 COM patients and 81 controls were analyzed using CFD.
• Key parameters assessed included nasal airflow resistance, flow distribution, and nondimensional estimators.

Main Results:

• Significant alterations in CFD-derived nasal airflow parameters were observed in 43.3% of COM patients.
• In contrast, only 12.3% of the control group exhibited similar CFD alterations.
• The incidence of nasal airflow alterations was statistically higher in the COM group.

Conclusions:

• Nasal airflow alterations, as assessed by CFD, are significantly more prevalent in patients with COM.
• These findings support the hypothesis that abnormal nasal airflow may contribute to the etiopathogenesis of COM.
• This study represents the first to link nasal cavity airflow and COM using a CFD approach.