Nasal wall compliance in vasomotor rhinitis

Abstract

Nasal compliance is a measure related to the blood volume in the nasal mucosa. The objective of this study was to better understand the vascular response in vasomotor rhinitis by measuring nasal cross-sectional area and nasal compliance before and after mucosal decongestion in 10 patients with vasomotor rhinitis compared with 10 healthy subjects. Nasal compliance was inferred by measuring nasal area by acoustic rhinometry at pressures ranging from atmospheric pressure to a negative pressure of -10 cmH2O. Mucosal decongestion was obtained with one puff per nostril of 0.05% oxymetazoline. At atmospheric pressure, nasal cross-sectional areas were similar in the vasomotor rhinitis group and the healthy subject group. Mucosal decongestion did not induce any decrease of nasal compliance in patients with vasomotor rhinitis in contrast with healthy subjects. Our results support the hypothesis, already proposed, of an autonomic dysfunction based on a paradoxical response of the nasal mucosa in vasomotor rhinitis. Moreover, the clearly different behavior between healthy subjects and vasomotor rhinitis subjects suggests that nasal compliance measurement may therefore represent a potential line of research to develop a diagnostic tool for vasomotor rhinitis, which remains a diagnosis of exclusion.

The diagnosis and management of rhinitis: An updated practice parameter

“…A lack of change in nasal compliance after administration of nasal oxymetazoline compared with normal subjects lends support to the hypothesis that vasomotor rhinitis may be attributable to autonomic dysfunction. 758 Rhinitis from food ingestion 22. Rhinitis may occur after ingestion of foods or alcoholic products.…”

In Vitro Experiments and Numerical Simulations of Airflow in Realistic Nasal Airway Geometry

“…We found that the cross-sectional areas of this plastinated nose model are in the range of the areas of healthy patients with mucosal decongestion obtained by acoustic reflection method. 20 It is hard to pinpoint the exact reason for the relative disagreement observed at the highest values of flow rates between experimental and numerical results except that laminar flow may not be verified throughout the model. Consequently, it was more difficult to achieve convergence for the highest flow rate values.…”

Funktionen und Funktionsstörungen der respiratorischen Schleimhaut der Nase und der Nasennebenhöhlen

“…Eine Eosinophilie spricht gegen das Vorliegen einer vasomotorischen Rhinitis [291] . Diagnostisch unterst ü tzt eine fehlende Ä nderung des nasalen Widerstandes auf Oxymetazolin die Hypothese einer urs ä chlichen autonomen Fehlinnervation [301] und hilft in der individuellen Diagnosestellung. Auch Messungen der Herzfrequenz zeigten eine relative parasympathische Hyperaktivit ä t [302] .…”