The nasal airway evaluation in morbid obesity.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate objectively the nasal patency in the obese patients. A total of 18 morbidly obese patients were recruited for the study. All of them were surgically treated because of morbid obesity using Bilo-Pancreatic Diversion (BPD) or Laparoscopic Gastric Banding (LGB) methods. The patients were free of nasal abnormalities, such as septum deviation, polyps, nasal concha hypertrophy and paranasal sinus diseases. This group comprised 10 men and 8 women aged from 17 to 54. The mean Body Mass Index (BMI) was 51.6 kg/m(2), ranged from 34.7 to 61.8 kg/m(2). In all of the patients the nasal patency was examined by active anterior rhinomanometry according International Standardization Rhinomanometric Committee using air pressure 75, 100 and 150 dPa. The results were compared to the healthy control group. The correlation between BMI and nasal airflow pressure was also examined. We found that inspiration values for 75, 100 and 150 dPa as well as the expiration values for 100 and 150 dPa in standard method and expiration values for 100 and 150 dPa in Broms method using anterior rhinomanometry in morbidly obese patients were statistically significant higher in comparison with the healthy controls. No statistical significant correlation between BMI of obese patients and the airflow pressure values was found. We conclude that in the morbid obesity the nasal patency is reduced as compared to the healthy controls.