Measuring Nasal Obstruction Outcomes

Abstract

Methods of measuring nasal obstruction outcomes include both objective anatomic and physiologic measurements, as well as subjective patient-reported measures. Anatomic measurements include acoustic rhinometry, imaging studies, and clinician-derived examination findings. Physiologic measures include rhinomanometry, nasal peak inspiratory flow, and computational fluid dynamics. Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are self-reported assessments of disease-specific quality-of-life outcomes. Several studies attempted correlation of these outcome measures; however, few show strong correlation. Expert opinion favors determining successful surgical outcomes using PROMs. This review provides a summary of current nasal obstruction outcome measures.

Keywords: Functional rhinoplasty; Nasal obstruction; Nasal valve stenosis; Objective and subjective outcomes measures; Patient-reported outcomes measures.