Relationship between nasal septum morphology and nasal obstruction symptom severity: computed tomography study / Relação entre a morfologia do septo nasal e a gravidade dos sintomas de obstrução nasal: estudo de tomografia computadorizada

Abstract Introduction The impact of the nasal septum morphology on the severity of obstruction symptoms has not been fully explored. Objective This study aimed to investigate whether the morphology of the deviated nasal septum assessed by computed tomography may explain nasal obstruction severity. Methods The study included 386 patients who were referred to the computed tomography examination of the paranasal sinuses. Patient selection criteria were the absence of facial anomalies, facial trauma, nasal surgery, and sinonasal tumors. Computed tomography images were used to estimate deviated nasal septum prevalence, the prevalence of Mladina's seven types of deviated nasal septum, and to measure the deviated nasal septum angle. Nasal obstruction severity was assessed by the nasal obstruction symptom evaluation, NOSE scale. The relationship between NOSE score, deviated nasal septum morphology, and deviated nasal septum angle was performed by a statistical regression model on the reduced sample of 225 patients. Results The prevalence of deviated nasal septum was 92.7%. Type 7 deviated nasal septum was the most frequent (34.2%) followed by type 5 (26.2%) and type 3 (23.6%). The worst NOSE scores were recorded in the type 2 deviated nasal septum (45.00 ± 28.28). The mean deviated nasal septum angle in patients with nasal obstruction was 8.5° ± 3.24. NOSE scores were not significantly associated with deviated nasal septum types and angles. Conclusion Patients with different types of deviated nasal septum have different NOSE scores. Computed tomography morphology of the deviated nasal septum could not fully explain the severity of nasal obstruction.

Resumo Introdução O impacto da morfologia do septo nasal na gravidade dos sintomas obstrutivos nasais ainda não foi totalmente explorado. Objetivo Investigar se a morfologia do desvio do septo nasal avaliada pela tomografia computadorizada pode explicar a gravidade da obstrução nasal. Método O estudo incluiu 386 pacientes encaminhados para exame tomográfico de seios paranasais. Os critérios de seleção dos pacientes foram: ausência de anomalias faciais, trauma facial, cirurgia nasal e tumores nasossinusais. Imagens de tomografia computadorizada foram usadas para estimar a prevalência de desvios do septo nasal, a prevalência dos sete tipos de desvios do septo nasal de Mladina e para medir o ângulo do desvio septal. A gravidade da obstrução nasal foi avaliada pela escala Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation, NOSE. A relação entre o escore da NOSE, a morfologia e o ângulo do desvio septal foi verificada por um modelo de regressão estatística em uma amostra reduzida de 225 pacientes. Resultados A prevalência de desvios do septo nasal foi de 92,7%. O desvio septal do tipo 7 foi o mais frequente (34,2%), seguido do tipo 5 (26,2%) e do tipo 3 (23,6%). Os piores escores da escala NOSE foram registrados nos desvios septais tipo 2 (45,00 ± 28,28). O ângulo médio do desvio em pacientes com obstrução nasal foi de 8,5° ± 3,24. Os escores da escala NOSE não foram significativamente associados aos tipos e ângulos do desvio septal. Conclusão Pacientes com tipos diferentes de desvios do septo nasal apresentam diferentes escores na escala NOSE. A morfologia do desvio septal à tomografia computadorizada não conseguiu explicar totalmente a gravidade da obstrução nasal.

Relationship between nasal septum morphology and nasal obstruction symptom severity: computed tomography study.

INTRODUCTION: The impact of the nasal septum morphology on the severity of obstruction symptoms has not been fully explored. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate whether the morphology of the deviated nasal septum assessed by computed tomography may explain nasal obstruction severity. METHODS: The study included 386 patients who were referred to the computed tomography examination of the paranasal sinuses. Patient selection criteria were the absence of facial anomalies, facial trauma, nasal surgery, and sinonasal tumors. Computed tomography images were used to estimate deviated nasal septum prevalence, the prevalence of Mladina's seven types of deviated nasal septum, and to measure the deviated nasal septum angle. Nasal obstruction severity was assessed by the nasal obstruction symptom evaluation, NOSE scale. The relationship between NOSE score, deviated nasal septum morphology, and deviated nasal septum angle was performed by a statistical regression model on the reduced sample of 225 patients. RESULTS: The prevalence of deviated nasal septum was 92.7%. Type 7 deviated nasal septum was the most frequent (34.2%) followed by type 5 (26.2%) and type 3 (23.6%). The worst NOSE scores were recorded in the type 2 deviated nasal septum (45.00 ±â€¯28.28). The mean deviated nasal septum angle in patients with nasal obstruction was 8.5°â€¯±â€¯3.24. NOSE scores were not significantly associated with deviated nasal septum types and angles. CONCLUSION: Patients with different types of deviated nasal septum have different NOSE scores. Computed tomography morphology of the deviated nasal septum could not fully explain the severity of nasal obstruction.

Is Computed Tomography Imaging of Deviated Nasal Septum Justified for Obstruction Confirmation?

Third-party payers request objective confirmation of the nasal septum deviation (NSD) severity by computed tomography (CT) before authorizing financial support for septoplasty. Previous studies have provided contradictory results related to the link between obstruction severity and CT-measured angle of the NSD. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the diverse CT morphology of NSDs (including previously neglected types and shapes) could predict obstruction severity. The study included 225 patients with NSD. The CT morphology of the septum was analyzed using 5 different classifications of NSD that are commonly used in the clinical practice and research. The angle of NSD was also measured. Nasal obstruction was assessed by the Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation (NOSE) questionnaire. A relationship between CT morphology and the angle of the NSD and NOSE scores was analyzed using appropriate regression models. Patients with NSDs located in the anterior part of the septum always have some degree of nasal obstruction, while those with posterior NSDs did not necessarily report obstruction symptoms no matter how complicated NSD they have. Regression analysis did not reveal any causal relationship between NOSE scores and CT morphology and the angle of NSD. The presence of spurs and whether they divide nasal passages have no statistically significant predictive effect on the obstruction severity. The CT morphology and the angle of the NSD could not predict severity of the nasal obstruction. Requesting CT examination just to objectively confirm nasal obstruction is not justified.

Side asymmetry in nasal resistance correlate with nasal obstruction severity in patients with septal deformities: Computational fluid dynamics study.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between side asymmetry in nasal resistance (NR) and severity of the nasal airway obstruction (NAO) in patients with different types of nasal septal deformity (NSD). DESIGN: Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) study. SETTING: The study was conducted in a tertiary medical centre. PARTICIPANTS: The study included 232 patients, who were referred to the CT examination of the paranasal sinuses. Exclusion criteria were sinonasal and respiratory diseases that may interfere with the nasal obstruction. The presence and the type of NSD were recorded according to the Mladina's classification. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The presence and severity of NAO in each patient were assessed by NOSE questionnaire. Eight computational models of the nasal cavity were created from CT scans. Models represented seven Mladina's NSD types and a straight septum of a symptomless patient. CFD calculated airflow partitioning and NR for each nasal passage. Side differences in NR were calculated by the equation ∆NR = NRleft  - NRright . The relationship between NOSE scores, airflow partitioning and side differences in NR was explored using Spearman's correlation analysis. RESULTS: Mladina's types of NSD showed differences in airflow partitioning and the degree of side asymmetry in NR. A significant positive correlation was detected between side differences in NR and NOSE scores (R = .762, P = .028). A significant negative correlation was found between the per cent of unilateral airflow and NR (R = -.524, P = .037). CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrated that side asymmetry in NR could explain differences in NAO severity related to the NSD type.