Abstract

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate and compare the width of nasal septal body (NSB) in patients with and without allergic rhinitis (AR) and other sinonasal pathologies.

METHODS: A total of 577 individuals were included in the study. The study groups consisted of 488 adult patients with various sinonasal pathologies and/or AR; while the control group consisted of 89 healthy individuals whose paranasal radiographic findings and allergy tests were completely normal. Four groups were formed in total: group 1 consisted of patients who only had sinonasal pathologies (septum deviation, acute sinusitis, chronic sinusitis with/without nasal polyposis), group 2 consisted of patients with both sinonasal pathologies and AR, group 3 consisted of patients who were only diagnosed with AR, and group 4 was designed as the control group.

RESULTS: There were 201 (34.8%) patients in group 1, 211 (36.6%) patients in group 2, 76 (13.2%) patients in group 3, and, 89 (15.4%) healthy individuals in group 4. Of these, 299 (51.8%) were female, 278 (48.2%) were male. NSB was significantly larger in males than females. The mean NSB width was 1.2±0.2 cm. NSB body was significantly larger in all three study groups when compared to the control group (p<0.001).

CONCLUSION: Our study is consistent with the literature, which supports that NSB enlarges in AR and sinus pathologies. In patients presenting with nasal obstruction, evaluation with paranasal sinus tomography in addition to physical examination is of great importance for effective diagnosis and treatment.