Rhinomanometric recording in children

The present paper describes the development of a method for rhinomanometric assessment of nasal respiratory resistance in children, based on a commercially available equipment, the Mercury Nasal Resistance Meter, NR 1. The instrument was modified to improve performance, and a special technique was developed for individual lining of the nose mask. The posterior rhinomanometric tehnique was further modified by fitting the oral tubing with a collar, and by the use of a bio-feedback procedure based on oscilloscope display of the flow-pressure diagram. It could then be used in all subjects, a considerable improvement over previous methods. The error of the method was analysed in a sample of 17 children aged 8-12 examined at two occasions. There was no systematic error. For the posterior method the method error within a session was about 0.2 cm H2O/l/sec at a flow rate of 0.2 l/sec.