Studies of the effect of peroral fenylpropanolamin on the functional size of the human maxillary ostium.

The effect of peroral fenylpropanolamin on the functional size of the human maxillary ostium was studied in 20 patients suffering from acute rhino-sinusitis. The size of the maxillary ostium was measured by a manometric procedure over a 2-hour period. During the introduction of a known airflow into the sinus for a short while, the pressure increase was compared with a nomogram obtained by model experiments. The introduction of the cannulas into the maxillary sinus caused a swelling of the mucosa in the ostium in the placebo group and initially also in the group receiving fenylpropanolamin, but, after 60 minutes, the latter group had a mean functional ostial size greater than the initial one. These differences were not statistically significant. This seems to be the first objective study of the size of the ostia in the human paranasal sinuses during treatment with a peroral decongestant.