title: Peak nasal inspiratory flow correlates with quality of life in functional endoscopic sinus surgery.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Whilst nasal function and airflow improve subjectively following functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS), a clinically useful and objective tool for quantifying such improvement is lacking. The peak nasal inspiratory flow (PNIF) metre offers convenient and objective measures of nasal patency. However, it has not yet been established whether changes in PNIF after surgery reflect changes in subjective disease burden. In this study we aimed to determine whether changes in PNIF correlate with commonly used subjective symptom and quality of life outcome measures following FESS for chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS).
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective cohort.
  
  
  METHODS
  Royal National Throat Nose and Ear Hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-seven patients undergoing FESS for CRS, with or without polyps (21 male, mean age 48.8).
  
  
  METHODS
  PNIF, "SNOT-22", "NOSE" and "VAS" questionnaires were performed before and after surgery.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In all patients, there was a strong negative correlation between change in PNIF and change in "SNOT-22" score following surgery (Pearson r=-.64, P<.0001). Strong negative correlations were also seen during subgroup analysis of patients with and without polyps (r=-.57, P=.006 and r=-.67, P=.005, respectively). Change in PNIF correlated significantly with change in "NOSE" score following surgery in all patients and those without polyps (r=-.54, P=.0005 and r=-.68, P=.003). There were no significant correlations between PNIF and VAS (nasal obstruction).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Changes in PNIF after FESS appear to best reflect improvements in quality of life in CRS as measured using the "SNOT-22" questionnaire.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rhinology and Facial Plastic Surgery, Royal National Throat Nose and Ear Hospital, University College London Hospitals NHS Trust, London, UK.|UCL Ear Institute, London, UK.
authors.forename: K L
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1417-0049
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Whitcroft
authors.affiliation: Department of Rhinology and Facial Plastic Surgery, Royal National Throat Nose and Ear Hospital, University College London Hospitals NHS Trust, London, UK.|UCL Ear Institute, London, UK.
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Andrews
authors.affiliation: Department of Rhinology and Facial Plastic Surgery, Royal National Throat Nose and Ear Hospital, University College London Hospitals NHS Trust, London, UK.
authors.forename: P S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Randhawa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002908:Chronic Disease; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004724:Endoscopy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D001239:Inhalation / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009298:Nasal Polyps / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012220:Rhinitis / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D012852:Sinusitis / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: chronic rhinosinusitis; nasal obstruction; patient reported outcome measures; peak nasal inspiratory flow; quality of life