Rhinoresistometry and acoustic rhinometry complement each other. The combination of the two methods provides insight into the functional changes during the nasal cycle and into nasal physiology in general. The authors therefore advocate a combination of the two methods for functional evaluation of the nasal airway.
LRFM enables an assessment of temporary nasal obstruction as well as physiological and pathological fluctuations in the nasal cycle. Especially in cases in which traditional rhinological diagnostic tools are unsatisfying, the enhanced diagnostic quality of LRFM appears to be a promising supplement to the currently available rhinological monitoring methods.
The improvement of nasal air flow often requires, in addition to septoplasty, surgery of the turbinates. In order to broaden our knowledge of the influence of turbinate surgery on nasal function, the authors investigated nasal models with different lateral walls by visualisation of flow patterns and rhinoresistometry. Anterior turbinoplasty and turbinectomy reduce the nasal resistance to air flow, but the respiratory function of the nose deteriorates. As the result of these experiments, a trimming of hyperplastic turbinates must create a normal shape of lateral nasal wall, because the respiratory function is based on nearly regular narrow cavities.
The mucociliary system is an important defence mechanism of the respiratory tract. It depends on the interaction between cilia and mucus. To evaluate the value of the saccharin test and a photoelectrical in-vitro method for measurement of ciliary beat frequency for clinical routine diagnosis, we studied twenty patients suffering from acute sinusitis (aged 19-64) and twenty healthy non-smokers (aged 19-50). The nasal mucociliary transport time of saccharin was significantly higher (p < or = 0.01) and the ciliary beat frequency was significantly lower (p < or = 0.001) in patients with acute sinusitis, compared to normals. There was no correlation between nasal mucociliary transport time and ciliary beat frequency in patients with acute sinusitis (r = 0.21) and in healthy non-smokers (r = -0.37). Nasal mucociliary transport time of saccharin and photoelectrical in-vitro method for measurement of ciliary beat frequency measure different aspects of the mucociliary system. They are complementary. Both methods can be carried out together in routine diagnosis.
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