Improvement of objective diagnostic methods for acute rhinosinusitis

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the diagnostic significance of nasal fractional exhaled nitric oxide (nFeNO) in patients with acute rhinosinusitis (ARS) and determine its relationship with clinical and instrumental parameters. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included 44 patients with moderate acute rhinosinusitis and 33 healthy volunteers. The nFeNO level was measured using a portable electrochemical gas analyzer (NOBreath). Endoscopic assessment was performed using the modified Lund-Kennedy scale (m-LK), radiological assessment using the Lund-Mackay scale (LM), and symptom severity assessment using the SNOT-22 questionnaire. Measurements were performed at baseline, on days 7-10, and on days 30-35 of treatment. RESULTS: >0.05). A stable negative correlation of moderate to high strength was found between nFeNO levels and the severity of clinical and radiological changes assessed by the m-LK and LM scales. The correlation with SNOT-22 scores was weak. CONCLUSION: NFeNO is a non-invasive biomarker of inflammation in ARS reflecting the severity of the pathological process and may be used for objective assessment of disease progression and treatment efficacy.