RHINORESISTOMETRY VERSUS RHINOMANOMETRY - AN EVALUATION

Allergic nasal hyperreactivity is a common problem and many patients s uffer from daily symptoms. Rhinomanometry is so far the only well esta blished clinical method for objective assessment of nasal patency, alt hough several expressions of nasal patency have been reported. Univers al standardisation was achieved in 1983 in Brussels by Clement et al. [1], but many specialists are looking for a system giving more informa tion on the functional aspects of the nose. A new development arising from active anterior rhinomanometry is rhinoresistometry. We tested th is equipment, which has been introduced with new software for calculat ion and graphic presentation. 24 adult volunteers with proven allergy to grass pollen were examined immediately after long-term challenge in the Vienna Challenge Chamber [3] and 15 minutes after decongestion by application of 5% ephedrine solution, The similarity and differences between rhinomanometry and rhinoresistometry, as well as the value of the additional parameters are pointed out. Our data indicate that rhin oresistometry is a rapid, reproducible and non-invasive technique, whi ch gives extended information in comparison to classic rhinomanometry. The results correlate very well with the findings obtained by the sta ndard method. This pilot study demonstrates the benefit of the new par ameters.