SPONTANEOUS VARIATIONS IN CONGESTION OF THE NASAL-MUCOSA

Background: Nasal patency shows spontaneous variations but is also inf luenced by exercise and allergic conditions. These variations have not been described in detail with regard to allergy. Objectives: The purp ose of this study was to examine whether these variations are differen t in nonallergic subjects and in subjects with nasal allergy to pollen out of the pollen season. Methods: We examined 12 of each type of sub ject in the winter on two days for seven hours in a climatic chamber w ith constant temperature and relative humidity, one day for examinatio n of spontaneous variations and one day for examination of exercise re sponse. Every 15 minutes the volume of the nasal cavities, minimum cro ss-sectional areas, and areas at fixed distances from the nostril were measured by acoustic rhinometry. Symptoms were scored by a questionna ire. Results: There were more pronounced spontaneous variations expres sed as the coefficient of variation of nasal volume in allergic than i n nonallergic subjects (14% against 9%, P = .004). A nasal cycle was o bserved in four of the nonallergic subjects and three of the allergic subjects. In the postexercise period, the spontaneous variations in th e nonallergic subjects were increased but decreased in the allergic su bjects. Exercise increased nasal patency more in the allergic subjects but only significantly for the cross-sectional area at 3.3 cm (105% c ompared with 43% in the nonallergic subjects, P = .05). In contrast, p harmacologic decongestion in the allergic subjects showed a tendency t o be more pronounced for the nasal cavity volume (55% increase versus 42%, P = .08). There was no difference between the groups in nasal sym ptom scores. Conclusion: Allergic subjects out of the pollen season ha ve more congested and more sensitive nasal mucosa than nonallergic sub jects.