Nasal obstruction symptom evaluation (NOSE) score outcomes after septorhinoplasty

Objectives/Hypothesis: The time interval at which Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation (NOSE) scores stabilize after functional septorhinoplasty has not been determined. Our goal was to characterize longitudinal trends of patient-reported outcomes of nasal obstruction using the NOSE survey instrument following functional septorhinoplasty. Study Design: Prospective longitudinal cohort study. Methods: Adult patients (≥18 years) with nasal obstruction who underwent functional septorhinoplasty by three different surgeons at a single academic, tertiary referral center were identified. NOSE scores were obtained preoperatively and prospectively during three postoperative intervals defined as early (1–3 months), middle (4–6 months), and late (≥10 months.) Longitudinal analysis included repeated measures analysis of variance and adjustments for multiple comparisons. Results: A total of 49 patients met inclusion criteria. For the total cohort, mean NOSE scores significantly improved between preoperative and early postoperative evaluations (71.4, standard deviation [SD] ± 17.0 vs. 24.2, SD ± 19.5; P <.001) but did not significantly change between early and middle (20.6, SD ± 19.1; P =.543) or middle and late (23.1, SD ± 24.9; P >.999) time intervals. Conclusions: Patients with nasal obstruction who undergo functional septorhinoplasty can be expected to have significant improvement in self -reported nasal obstruction as early as 1 to 3 months postoperatively with a continued, durable, long-standing benefit lasting at least 10 months after surgery. Future studies can consider the 3-month time frame as a proxy for 1 year outcomes to help reduce survey burden. Level of Evidence: 2c Laryngoscope, 129:841–846, 2019.