Novel approach for assessing nasal valve obstruction: a study of nasal valve patency using peak nasal inspiratory flow and flowmetry

Objective. The aim of this paper is to compare the results of uing two methods designed to objectify nasal patency in patients with external and internal nasal valve obstruction.
Methods. Nasal flow was measured by a flowmeter (behind the nasal valve area) and peak nasal inspiratory flow (PNIF; in front of the nasal valve area) separately for each side of the nasal cavity.
Results. Data included information from a total of 38 sides of the nasal cavity – 19 sides of the nasal cavity with an obstruction in the area of the nasal valve and 19 sides of the nasal cavity without an obstruction. There were no statistically significant differences in terms of age (p = 0.299), gender (p = 1.000) and flowmetry values (4.28 vs 4.26; p = 0.462) between the two groups. Statistically significant differences between groups were found for visual analogue scale (VAS) of nasal patency (4.99 vs 8.64; p < 0.001) and PNIF scores (36.1 vs 91.6; p = 0.002).
Conclusions. To determine the contribution of obstruction to the clinical condition in the nasal valve area, it is appropriate to use a combination of methods measuring in the area in front of and behind the nasal valve. According to our observations, the combination of PNIF and flowmetry may be advantageous in the evaluation of these patients.