Nasal airway measurements confirm increased congestion during pregnancy.

2004 SEP 22 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A study of all nasal airway variables involved in rhinitis during pregnancy confirms the adverse effect of these factors and supports investigation into estrogen antagonists as possible treatment for nasal congestion.

To clarify inconsistent study findings on pregnancy-associated rhinitis, otorhinolaryngologists at the Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital in England assessed "all the variables of the nasal airway simultaneously for the first time" in their study of 18 pregnant women followed from their first trimester through the postpartum period.

"Measurements of the nasal airway included anterior rhinoscopy (AnR), peak inspiratory nasal flow, acoustic rhinometry, anterior rhinomanometry (ARM), and the saccharin test with rhinitis questionnaire scores providing a symptomatic measurement," explained C.M. Philpott and colleagues.

"All the tests showed a trend consistent with decreasing nasal patency when expressed as an average for the group as a whole, although only AnR, ARM, mucociliary clearance time, and rhinitis questionnaire scores were statistically significant (pless than or equal to0.05)," they reported.

"This confirms the effect of pregnancy on the nasal mucosa and coincides with the rise in the serum concentration of the female sex ...