How Does Oxymetazoline Change Nasal Aerodynamics and Symptomatology in Patients with Turbinate Hypertrophy?

Objectives Oxymetazoline relieves nasal obstructive symptoms via vasoconstriction, however, the changes in nasal structures and aerodynamics that impact symptoms the most remain unclear. Methods This prospective, longitudinal, and single blinded cohort study applied Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) modeling based on CT scans at baseline and post‐oxymetazoline on 13 consecutive patients with chronic nasal obstruction secondary to inferior turbinate hypertrophy from a tertiary medical center. To account for placebo effect, a sham saline spray was administered with subject blindfolded prior to oxymetazoline, with 30 min rest in between. Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation (NOSE) and unilateral Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) scores of nasal obstructions were collected at baseline, after sham, and 30 min after oxymetazoline. Results Both VAS and NOSE scores significantly improved from baseline to post‐oxymetazoline (NOSE: 62.3 ± 12.4 to 31.5 ± 22.5, p