COMPARISON OF THE RELATIVE ABILITIES OF ACOUSTIC RHINOMETRY, RHINOMANOMETRY, AND THE VISUAL ANALOG SCALE IN DETECTING CHANGE IN THE NASAL CAVITY IN A HEALTHY ADULT-POPULATION

The relative abilities of acoustic rhinometry, rhinomanometry, and sub jective sensation of nasal patency, as recorded using a Visual Analogu e Scale (VAS) were compared in a group of 51 healthy volunteers. All t hree methods were able to detect a change following the application of a nasal decongestant. A 27.5% change in minimum cross sectional area, a 13.29% change in nasal resistance, and a 30.7% change in the sensat ion of nasal patency was observed No correlation was demonstrated betw een either acoustic rhinometry or rhinomanometry and subjective sensat ion, and only a weak correlation was found between acoustic rhinometry and rhinomanometry.