What is the Value of a CT with Nasal Obstruction?

A very interesting article was published recently in Laryngoscope, which looked at whether you can accurately determine whether you have a blocked nose with a CT Scan.

The study looked at patients having a CT Scan of their nose and sinuses. The patients were then asked to fill out a questionnaire called the NOSE Questionnaire. The NOSE Questionnaire is used by Dr Dan Robinson pre- and post-operatively (as well as many other surgeons) to determine the degree to which a patient’s nose is blocked.

The CT Scans were then reviewed by a radiologist as well as an ENT Surgeon and scaled according to the degree of septal deviation present. The degree of septal deviation was then correlated with the patient’s NOSE Score to see if there was any relationship between CT findings and symptom severity.

The results are very interesting: there is no correlation between the degree of nasal obstruction and the findings on a CT Scan in relation to having a deviated septum.

The bottom line from this study is something ENT Surgeons have known for years. The best determinant as to whether a patient has a blocked nose is to take a history from the patient and examine their nose. Therefore, if you feel you have a blocked nose but have a normal CT Scan, there is every possibility your symptoms are being caused by something which wasn’t found on the CT Scan and can only be identified by seeing an ENT Surgeon.