[Nasal coblation plasma surgery for the treatment of persistent allergic rhinitis: an evaluation of short-term outcomes].
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the therapeutic effect of nasal coblation plasma surgery for the treatment of persistent allergic rhinitis (PAR).


METHODS
One hundred patients with mite-sensitized moderate to severe PAR who underwent nasal coblation plasma surgery (inferior turbinoplasty plus nasal agger ablation) were enrolled in this study. There were 68 male and 32 female patients aged 16 to 62 years (mean, 36.3 years). The visual analogue scale (VAS) for global rhinitis symptoms, nasal provocation test (NPT), anterior rhinomanometry, and T&T olfactometry were used to assess the short-term outcomes, preoperatively and postoperatively at the end of three months after surgical procedure. SPSS19.0 software was applied for statistical analysis.


RESULTS
At three months after treatment, the total nasal symptom VAS scores significantly decreased from 7.0 ± 2.0 to 2.5 ± 1.5 (X(-) ± s; t = 18.00, P = 0.0001). All patients were allergic to house dust mites with positive NPT before treatment. At three months from the coblation intervention, 88.0% of the patients changed from positive NPT to negative, while 12.0% remained as positive. There was a significant reduction in total nasal resistance, which diminished from 0.772 ± 0.224 to 0.221 ± 0.112 kPa·s·L(-1) after treatment (t = 22.00, P = 0.0001). Preoperative olfactory tests showed hyposmia in 31.0% of the patients, with 22 cases for slight and 9 cases for moderate disorder. Three months after treatment, 13.0% were diagnosed as hyposmia, with 7 cases for slight and 6 cases for moderate disorder (χ(2) = 10.44, P = 0.005).


CONCLUSIONS
Nasal coblation plasma surgery provides favorable short-term outcomes in terms of remarkable improvement in nasal symptoms, hyperreactivity of nasal mucosa, nasal flow and olfactory function in patients with moderate to severe PAR, but long-term effect needed further observation.
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Huai'an First People's Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Huai'an, Jiangsu 223300, China.
Pei-zhong
PZ
Li
Dong-sheng
DS
Gu
Mei-ping
MP
Lu
Yu-Jin
YJ
Li
Yan
Y
Shen
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China, Email: jspent@126.com.
Lei
L
Cheng
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017115:Catheter Ablation / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007036:Hypothermia, Induced; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D059747:Nasal Surgical Procedures; D012221:Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D025363:Rhinomanometry; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult