Tomographic dimensions of the nasal vestibular body in relation to nasal obstruction in adults

Abstract

Abstract INTRODUCTION. The nasal vestibular body is a recently reported dynamic elevation in the vicinity of the inferolateral internal nasal valve. The contribution of this anatomical zone in persistent nasal obstruction is not yet defined. OBJECTIVE. To assess the correlation between the tomographic size of the nasal vestibular body and the presence of nasal obstruction in adults. MATERIAL AND METHODS. An observational, analytical, prospective, cross-sectional study of a series of cases was conducted between August 1 and December 30, 2020. We included 23 adult patients and we recorded the sex, age, symptoms of obstruction, presence of allergic rhinitis, whether they used treatment for rhinitis, presence of septal deviation and dimensions in length and width of the nasal vestibular body. Patients were distributed in groups, with and without nasal obstruction, and the area of the vestibular body was measured in digital format using millimetre computed tomography. RESULTS. Of a total of 23 cases, 10 were men (43.48%) and 13 women (56.52%), mean age 28.8±10.2 years. 16 patients (69.57%) had symptoms of nasal obstruction and 7 (30.43%) were without obstruction. 10 patients (43.48%) presented symptoms of rhinitis. Using Spearman’s correlation test, we found a positive correlation between width (R = 0.79, p <0.001) and nasal vestibular body length (R = 0.77, p <0.001) and nasal obstruction. CONCLUSION. The nasal vestibular body is a structure that could be related to the symptoms of nasal obstruction in the adult population.