[Nasal irrigation for the treatment of vasomotor rhinitis: a pilot study].

To observe the therapeutic effect of simple 3.0% saline nasal irrigation and combined treatment of 3.0% saline nasal irrigation and budesonide nasal spray for vasomotor rhinitis (VMR), and explore the long-term effect for VMR. Through examination of levels of substance P (SP) and mucin (MUC)5B in nasal lavage fluid, the mechanisms of nasal irrigation treatment for VMR was discussed. One hundred and one patients from Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Huashan Hospital of Fudan University with VMR were randomly divided into 4 groups. The number of patients was 24 in control group, 25 in budesonide nasal spray treatment group (budesonide group), 25 in nasal irrigation treatment group (nasal irrigation group) and 27 in budesonide nasal spray + nasal irrigation group (combined treatment group). Control patients were left untreated. Budesonide group was under budesonide nasal spray treatment, nasal irrigation group was treated using 3.0% saline with a temperature of 40℃ and combined treatment group was given both treatments. The duration of the intervention period was 3 months (90 days). Visual Analog Scale (VAS) was used to evaluate nasal symptoms, and the health-related quality of life was assessed using the 12-item Short Form Health Survey version 2.0 (SF-12v2). Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to assess the contents of SP and MUC5B in nasal lavage fluid before and after 3-month treatments in budesonide and nasal irrigation group in the study. MUC5B in nasal lavage fluid after the SP challenge and anticholinergic drug intervention in control group were also evaluated with ELISA. Nighty out of 101 patients completed the study. In the budesonide and combined treatment group after relevant interventions, the total VAS score of nasal symptoms decreased (5.91±0.21 3.82±0.15, 6.18±0.17 3.92±0.15, value was 8.193, 10.060, respectively, all <0.05) and SF-12v2 score increased (146.00±1.23 152.30±0.97, 146.00±1.08 155.40±0.90, value was 3.982, 6.697, respectively, all <0.05), with both scores showed no significant differences in the nasal irrigation group (5.96±0.17 5.72±0.15, 146.10±1.17 147.00±0.94, value was 1.038, 0.607, respectively, all >0.05) after the first month. In the budesonide and combined treatment group after relevant interventions, the total VAS score of nasal symptoms decreased (5.91±0.21 5.05±0.15, 6.18±0.17 5.10±0.12, value was 3.374, 5.351, respectively, all <0.05) and SF-12v2 score increased (146.00±1.23 150.90±0.76, 146.00±1.08 153.60±0.94, value was 3.373, 5.343, respectively, all <0.05), with both scores showed no significant differences in the nasal irrigation group (5.96±0.17 5.78±0.17, 146.10±1.17 148.10±0.80, value was 0.716, 1.438, respectively, all >0.05) after the second month. By the end of the third month, in nasal irrigation and combined treatment group, the VAS score was diminished (5.96±0.17 4.80±0.12, 6.18±0.17 4.44±0.13, value was 5.485, 8.264, respectively, all <0.05) and SF-12v2 score was elevated (146.10±1.17 150.80±0.96, 146.00±1.08 152.90±0.85, value was 3.163, 5.008, respectively, all <0.05), but there were no significant differences in budesonide group (5.91±0.21 5.68±0.18, 146.00±1.23 148.40±0.85, value was 0.819, 1.587, respectively, all >0.05). Additionally, SP in nasal lavage fluid decreased and MUC5B showed no statistical changes in budesonide group after three months, however, SP showed no any changes and MUC5B reduced significantly in nasal lavage fluid in nasal irrigation group. Furthermore, the anticholinergic drug could not decrease the concentration of MUC5B after the SP challenge in nasal cavity in control group. The therapeutic effect of simple nasal irrigation with 3.0% saline or combined treatment of 3.0% saline nasal irrigation and nasal corticosteroids is superior to simple nasal corticosteroids. Nasal corticosteroids plays a role in the inhibition of sensory nerve endings in nasal mucosa, but neurotransmitter plays a limited role in the pathogenesis of VMR.