Clinical and rhinostereometric assessment of nasal mucosal swelling during histamine challenge

The correlation between the subjective sensation of nasal stuffiness and nasal mucosal swelling measured with rhinostereometry during histamine challenge was studied in 13 healthy subjects. To permit a study of the entire range from decongestion to maximal congestion, the mucosa was pre-treated with a local vasoconstrictor 1 h before it was challenged with eight doses of increasing concentrations of histamine applied to one side of the nose. Ten minutes after each application, the subject estimated stuffiness on the challenged side, using a 100 mm visual analogue scale. The amount of mucosal swelling was measured with rhinostereometry. In 12 of 13 individuals and in the group as a whole, there was a strong positive correlation between a feeling of nasal stuffiness and the degree of mucosal swelling with this nasal provocation model (R = 0.59; P < 0.001).