title: Intra- and intersession reliability of acoustic rhinometry in measuring nasal cross-sectional area.
abstract: We evaluated the intrasession and intersession reliability of acoustic rhinometry in measuring nasal cross-sectional areas in 10 subjects. Subjects were measured under three conditions: with a Breathe Right nasal strip in place, with a sham strip in place, and with no strip in place. Two sets of three measurements were taken 1 week apart. The intrasession reliability both with and without the Breathe Right strip was very good (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] [2,1]: 0.97 and 0.98, respectively). The intersession reliability with and without the Breathe Right strip was not nearly as good (ICC [2,1]: 0.62 and 0.67). The Breathe Right strip increased the mean nasal cross-sectional area by 0.10 cm2 (17.4%). We conclude that acoustic rhinometry is a reliable way to measure nasal cross-sectional area during a single session of multiple tests, but it is not as reliable across sessions. We also determined that the Breathe Right nasal strip significantly increases nasal cross-sectional area.
authors.affiliation: Athletic Training Department, School of Health and Human Performance, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN 47809, USA.
authors.forename: N E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Ognibene
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Merrick
authors.forename: C D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Ingersoll
mesh_terms: D000162:Acoustics; D006801:Humans; D008365:Manometry / Q000379:methods*; D009296:Nasal Cavity / Q000502:physiology*; D009297:Nasal Mucosa / Q000502:physiology; D010036:Otolaryngology / Q000295:instrumentation; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012119:Respiration