The simplified oscillation method for measuring nasal resistance during provocation with allergens

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Abstract
The simplified oscillation method was adapted to register nasal resistance because complicated and difficult procedures limited other known rhinomanometric tests. An initial study of 39 human subjects compared the effect of different-sized masks, revealing that the smaller the face mask, the smaller the capacitance and the higher the effective resistance. After an initial measurement, a 2nd study group of 20 healthy and 20 pollinosis patients aged from 4-40 yr underwent nasal provocation with grass pollen extract. Despite high resistance, reactances were minor. This occurs because the nose acts as an aperture and an aperture has minimal reactances. With increasing concentrations of pollen extract, the nasal resistance of pollinosis subjects increased steadily, whereas the controls showed no change. Passive anterior rhinomanometry was measured for comparison and results contrasted sharply with the oscillation method: prior to provocation, initial values of control and pollinosis groups were already significantly different; after provocation, there was a statistically significant rise in resistance among the control as well as the pollinosis subjects. The oscillation method for measuring nasal resistance is simple, effective and suitable for children.