Effects of Nasal Prongs on Nasal Airflow Resistance

Study objectives The aim of this study was to investigate whether nasal prongs, which have been proposed to assess nasal flow during sleep, affect nasal airflow resistance (NR). Design NR was estimated by posterior rhinomanometry at a 0.5 L/s flow, under eight conditions: in the basal state, and with seven different nasal prongs. Participants The study was performed in 17 healthy supine subjects, 8 of whom had basal NR values within the normal range (≤ 2 cm H 2 O·L −1 ·s, group 1), and 9 had increased basal NR values (> 2.5 cm H 2 O·L −1 ·s, group 2), because of nare narrowness and/or deviated nasal septum. Measurements and results NR increased significantly while breathing with nasal prongs (p 2 O·L −1 ·s. Significant differences were found between the ΔNR induced by the different nasal prongs (p Conclusions This study demonstrates that nasal prongs can markedly increase NR in subjects presenting with nare narrowness and/or deviated nasal septum. Further investigations that would include nocturnal polysomnography are still required to evaluate the possible influence of nasal prongs on the diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and its severity.