%0 Journal Article
%T Postnasal drip and chronic cough in patients with chronic rhinitis treated with temperature-controlled radiofrequency neurolysis.
%A Gorelik D
%A Ahmad JG
%A Razmi SE
%A Takashima M
%A Yiu Y
%A Thekdi A
%A Ramanathan M
%A Dhanda AK
%A Yim MT
%A Ahmed OG
%J Int Forum Allergy Rhinol
%V 14
%N 3
%D 2024 Mar 17
%M 37461130
%F 5.426
%R 10.1002/alr.23238
%X <B>OBJECTIVE: </B>To evaluate the contribution of postnasal drip (PND) and chronic cough (CC) to symptoms of patients with chronic rhinitis treated with temperature-controlled radiofrequency (TCRF) neurolysis of the posterior nasal nerve (PNN), and correlate PND and CC scores with components of the reflective total nasal symptom score (rTNSS).<BR><B>METHODS: </B>Pooled data from three prospective studies: two single-arm studies and the index active treatment arm of a randomized controlled trial. Adult patients with baseline rTNSS ≥6 were treated with TCRF neurolysis at nonoverlapping regions of the PNN. PND and CC symptoms were evaluated on a 0 (none) to 3 (severe) scale.<BR><B>RESULTS: </B>Data from 228 patients (57.9% women, 42.1% men) were included. The mean baseline rTNSS was 8.1 (95% confidence interval [CI], 7.8-8.3), which decreased to 3.2 (95% CI, 2.9-3.5) at 6 months. At baseline, 97.4% of patients had PND and 80.3% had CC. Median baseline PND and CC symptom scores were 3 (interquartile range [IQR], 2-3) and 2 (IQR, 1-2), respectively. At 6 months, this decreased to 1 (IQR, 0-2) and 0 (IQR, 0-1), respectively, showing significant improvement from baseline (both p < 0.001). Spearman correlation coefficients with components of rTNSS (rhinorrhea, congestion, itching, sneezing) were 0.16 to 0.22 for CC and 0.19 to 0.46 for PND, indicating only a weak to moderate correlation.<BR><B>CONCLUSIONS: </B>PND and CC contribute to the symptomatology of chronic rhinitis and are significantly improved after TCRF neurolysis of the PNN. The inclusion of PND and CC symptoms in a chronic rhinitis assessment instrument could provide important additional information for the characterization of the disease state and outcomes after any therapeutic treatment.