Peak nasal inspiratory flow: A diagnostic tool to determine the need for septoplasty

Abstract

The nose is a major contributing factor for nasal resistance. The nasal airway is responsible for approximately 50% of the total airway resistance. The most common metrics used to assess nasal breathing are subjective, which can lead to inaccurate and inconsistent results. Hence, objective tests are used which give a more accurate and reliable idea of the degree of nasal resistance. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study on 100 patients with symptomatic DNS was conducted at Sri Venkateshwara ENT Institute attached to Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute, Karnataka, India. This was a cross-sectional study conducted on 100 patients with symptomatic deviated nasal obstruction. The visual analog score (VAS) was used to clinically determine the severity of nasal obstruction and a peak nasal inspiratory flow (PNIF) meter was used to objectively test the severity of nasal obstruction. The Spearman linear correlation coefficient was used to analyze the correlation between VAS and PNIF, age and VAS, and age and PNIF of the subjects in the sample. Results: Of the 100 patients, 59 were male and 41 were female. The mean VAS was 6 and the mean PNIF was 149.7 L/minute. A positive correlation between VAS and PNIF for nasal obstruction (p = 0.032) was found but the same was not seen between age and PNIF and also between age and VAS. Conclusion: The PNIF meter is a viable, non-invasive, easy-to-handle, and cost-effective alternative for the evaluation of nasal patency. It has proved to be one more reliable tool to aid in the diagnosis as well as the follow-up of nasal, clinical, or surgical treatments.