Intranasal cryotherapy for refractory chronic rhinitis: a prospective study

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of intranasal cryotherapy to treat chronic rhinitis refractory to medical therapy. METHODS: = 36) with chronic rhinitis refractory to medical treatment who underwent intranasal cryotherapy between 2022 and 2024 at this centre. The primary outcome measures were changes in validated pre- and post-operative scoring systems (Total Nasal Symptom Score, Sino-Nasal Outcome Test 22 (SNOT-22), Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation and peak inspiratory nasal flow). RESULTS: < 0.001): mean Total Nasal Symptom Score (12 hours) 8.4 to 5.3, Total Nasal Symptom Score (2 weeks) 9.2 to 5.9, SNOT-22 56 to 31, Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation 57.5 to 28.5 and peak inspiratory nasal flow 98 to 138 l/min. CONCLUSION: This is the only dataset for patients receiving intranasal cryotherapy in the UK to date and follows patients over a two-year period. The results support the ongoing use of intranasal cryotherapy for sustained treatment of refractory chronic rhinitis.