Rhinomanometry, sinus CT-scan and allergy testing in the diagnostic assessment of chronic nasal obstruction.

In order to assess how effective a combination of diagnostic methods, each addressing specific aetiopathogenic aspects, would be in uncovering the cause of common chronic nasal obstruction, we evaluated 45 consecutive adult subjects. They were submitted to rhinomanometry testing, sinus CT-scans and RASTs to prevalent allergens. Most, but not all, patients ended up showing abnormal results in at least one of the diagnostic procedures. Sinus pathology was, by far, the most frequent diagnosis, while allergy took second place, with a number of atopic subjects displaying sinusitis as well. On the other hand, septal deviations with a significant effect on nasal resistance were only seldom found to be the cause of chronic nasal obstruction.