Prevalence of Chronic Rhinitis in Thai Patients with Obstructive Sleep Disordered Breathing
Paraya Assanasen MD*, Wish Banhiran MD*, Noppong Kositchaiwat MD*, Chaweewan Bunnag MD*
Affiliation : * Department of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
Objective : To prospectively identify the prevalence of chronic rhinitis (CR) and findings from objective nasal airway evaluation
in Thai patients with obstructive sleep disordered breathing (OSDB) in a sleep clinic.
Material and Method: Seventy patients, 44 males and 26 females, with OSDB were recruited. All were asked to complete
Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS), questionnaires regarding nasal symptoms including scores to assess the severity of CR,
and objective nasal airway measurements. Nasal airway resistance (NAR) was measured by active anterior rhinomanometry
and nasal volume and minimal cross-sectional area (MCA) were measured by acoustic rhinometry (before topical
decongestion).
Results : Fifty-nine patients (84.3%) had a history of nasal obstruction, rhinorrhea, sneezing, and itching of either intermittent
or persistent pattern, regardless of severity, for more than one month. Forty-six patients (65.7%) had active symptom of
nasal obstruction. About 23% of patients had NAR higher than and 33% had MCA lower than 1 SD from the mean of
normative values in healthy Asians. Both subjective and objective nasal parameters did not have a statistically significant
correlation with the scores of ESS.
Conclusion : A substantial proportion of patients with OSDB in the sleep clinic had co-existing CR symptoms and a tendency
to be abnormal in objective nasal parameters when compared to general population. Careful history recording and a
thorough evaluation of the nasal airway are, therefore, essential in these patients.
Keywords : Chronic rhinitis, Snoring, Obstructive sleep apnea, Obstructive sleep disordered breathing, Thai
