The Nasal Response to Exercise in Subjects with Nasal Septal Deviation

Jang, Yong Ju; Oh, Jang Keun; Kim, Yun Hwan

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Subjects with nasal septal deviation (NSD) are commonly confronted with mucosal hypertrophy of the concave side of nasal cavity. Previous studies have characterized response to exercise in healthy subjects and in subjects with rhinitis, but such studies are not yet done in subjects with NSD. In this research, by using acoustic rhinometry, we aimed to investigate the nasal response to exercise in subjects with nasal septal deviation.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Acoustic rhinometric measurements of the cross sectional areas (CSA) at 3.3, 4.0, and 6.4 cm from the nostril, and nasal volume were taken in 10 subjects with NSD. The consecutive acoustic rhinometric measurements were undertaken just before and immediately after, and 10, 20, and 30 minutes after treadmill exercise.
RESULTS
In nasal cavities showing compensatory hypertrophy, nasal volume and CSA at 3.3 cm and 6.4 cm from the nostril showed significant increase in immediate post- exercises and 10-minute post-exercise measurements when compared with baseline measurements. At 4.0 cm from the nostril, the increase in CSA was significant until the 20-minute post-exercise measurement in the hypertrophied side. However, in contralateral nasal cavities, exercise did not result in significant changes when compared with the base line measurement, except for the immediate post-exercise measurement at the point of 4 cm from the nostril.
CONCLUSION
The results of this study indicated that the mucosal response to exercise was pronounced in concave nasal cavities in subjects with NSD. By contrast, in the convex nasal cavities, the mucosal response was very weak in terms of nasal patency.