Elsevier

Mayo Clinic Proceedings

Volume 76, Issue 10, October 2001, Pages 990-994
Mayo Clinic Proceedings

Original Article
Forced Inspiratory Nasal Flow-Volume Curves: A Simple Test of Nasal Airflow

https://doi.org/10.4065/76.10.990Get rights and content

Objective

To observe and describe normal and abnormal inspiratory nasal flow-volume patterns.

Patients and Methods

In this observational case series, individuals with and without nasal symptoms underwent forced inspiratory nasal flow-volume (FINFV) curve measurements. The participants were volunteer adults from the staff and patients of a pulmonary subspecialty private practice office. To examine the flow patterns from the FINFV curves, definitions of normal and abnormal were established. Normal curves were defined as those from participants who had no nasal symptoms and a peak inspiratory nasal flow greater than 2.5 L/s. Abnormal curves were defined as those from participants who had 1 or more nasal symptoms, a peak inspiratory nasal flow lower than 2.5 L/s, and normal oral inspiratory flow.

Results

Study participants consisted of 10 staff and 58 patients. Fourteen individuals (21%) met the definition of normal and had FINFV curves that mimicked the shapes of normal oral flow-volume curves; 39 (57%) met the definition of abnormal and had FINFV curves that mimicked the patterns of abnormal oral flow-volume curves. The abnormal curves showed both fixed (33/39 [85%]) and variable (6/39 [15%]) patterns of obstruction. Fifteen participants (22%) did not meet either established definition.

Conclusions

Forced inspiratory nasal flow-volume curves are a potentially useful clinical tool to measure nasal airflow. Normal and abnormal flow patterns are easily identifiable.

Section snippets

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Initially, techniques for performing nasal flow-volume curves were practiced on me and on a pulmonary technician until a suitable method was established. Once the technique was established, FINFV curves were performed on individuals recruited from patients and staff of a private practice pulmonary medicine office. Study participants included those with and those without nasal symptoms. The presence or absence of nasal symptoms was recorded. Participants were asked if they were currently having

RESULTS

The 68 study participants consisted of 45 men and 23 women ranging in age from 22 to 87 years (mean, 53.9 years); 58 were patients, and 10 were staff members. No nasal symptoms were reported by 18 participants, whereas 50 had active complaints. Therefore, 68 FINFV curves formed the basis of this report.

The separation of participants by the definitions used resulted in 14 (21%) who met the definition of normal, 39 (57%) who met the definition of abnormal, and 15 (22%) who did not meet either

DISCUSSION

Although symptoms of nasal obstruction are common in medical practice, clinical techniques to measure nasal airflow are limited.1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 The FINFV curve, as demonstrated in this article, has the potential to be a useful tool to measure nasal airflow. Normal and abnormal flow patterns are recognizable, and the technique is easy to perform.

In an attempt to establish a routine technique for nasal flow-volume curves, I noticed that both subjects and technicians preferred the forced

CONCLUSIONS

The FINFV curve can be a valuable technique for evaluating the nasal airway for obstruction. It is easy to perform and well tolerated. Use of the technique requires a full understanding of the mechanisms of inspiratory flow because both reduced effort and reduced respiratory ability can affect the results. The technique requires repeated efforts to ensure reproducibility and should be performed with an oral flow-volume loop. Although work remains to be done to refine the technique, to establish

REFERENCES (12)

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Presented in part as a poster at the annual meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians, Chicago, Ill, October 31-November 4, 1999.

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