Use of pharmacologic decongestion in the generation of rhinomanometric norms for the nasal airway.

It has been reported that nasal decongestion can be more effectively achieved by regulated exercise than by the use of decongestant nose drops. To test this finding, we assessed the relative effectiveness of physical exercise, nose drops, and sprays on 100 consecutive patients with nasal congestion. We found that decongestion was best achieved by spraying the nasal mucosa twice, seven to eight minutes apart, with 0.1% xylometazoline solution (Otrivin; Ciba-Geigy). This study demonstrates that rhinomanometric improvement correlates well with subjective improvement following septoplasty. Rhinomanometric limits for the selection of patients suitable for functional operations of the septum or lateral walls of the nose are presented.