Rhinomanometry in children.

During the period January 1982 to December 1985 nasal resistance (NR) was measured by computer-assisted 'head-out' plethysmography in 986 patients aged 4-18 years referred to the Airflow Laboratory at the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto. Nasal resistance was found to decline with increasing age, and it was elevated in the presence of mucosal swelling, adenoid enlargement and other significant nasal pathology. Studies of variance on the equipment used indicated that in the assessment of NR results of the head-out volume displacement plethysmographic method of active posterior rhinometry were highly reproducible.