Comparative analysis of nasal and lung function in nonasthmatic children and adolescents with chronic rhinitis

Introduction. Nasal obstruction (NO) is a cardinal chronic rhinitis (CR) symptom. There is a relationship between the degree of NO and bronchial obstruction in patients with rhinitis and asthma, an event not studied in individuals with rhinitis and without asthma. Objectives. To investigate the correlation between nasal and pulmonary function in children and adolescents with chronic allergic rhinitis (AR) and non-allergic rhinitis (NAR) without asthma and the correspondence between eosinophils in nasal secretion (NSEos) and nasal and pulmonary function in AR. Population and methods. Patients with AR and NAR, without asthma, were included. Nasal function was assessed peak nasal inspiratory flow (PNIF z-score) and pulmonary function by spirometry (z-score). NSEos counts were performed in patients with AR. Pearson's and Spearman's tests were used to evaluate the correlation between variables. A p <0.05 was considered significant. Results. Seventy-seven patients (females n = 37) between 7 and 16 years of age were included. A positive correlation was found between PNIF with FEF25-75% and FEV1 in the total sample of patients (r = 0.304; p = 0.007) (r = 0.293; p = 0.009) and the subgroup with AR (r = 0.351; p = 0.005) (r = 0.294; p = 0.020), respectively. In 40 patients with AR, no correlation was found between NSEos (%) and PNIF (r = -0.120; p = 0.462) nor with FEF25-75% (r = -0.157; p = 0.340) or FEV1 (r = 0.107; p= 0.511). Conclusion. In children and adolescents with CR without asthma, PNIF correlated with FEF 25-75% and FEV1, with greater strength in the AR subgroup. Still, no correlation was obtained between NSEos and nasal and pulmonary function.