Introduction: The most frequent symptoms of patients with nasal septal perforations are crusting and bleeding. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of septal perforations on temperature and humidity of the anterior nasal airways.
Patients and methods: Intranasal temperature and humidity were measured in the nasal valve area, the anterior turbinate area and in the nasopharynx during normal respiration. A miniaturized thermocouple and a humidity sensor were used for continuous detection. Ten patients with septal perforations were enclosed into the study. The results were compared to matched healthy control subjects.
Results: There were no significant differences of the temperature and humidity values between the left and right side of the nasal cavity in each study group. At the end of inspiration, nasal air temperature did not differ significantly between the two study groups. The humidity values at the end of inspiration were statistically significantly lower in the patient group.
Conclusions: Nasal septal perforations seem to be related to lower humidity in the anterior nasal airways during inspiration. Reduced humidity may contribute to crusting as a main symptom.