could its long-term effect be predicted with a preoperative topical vasoconstrictor drop test?
GROUND: Our purpose was to evaluate whether postoperative improvement by radiofrequency (RF) volumetric tissue reduction (RFVTR) correlated with a preoperative topical vasoconstrictor drop test (TVDT) in subjects with chronic nasal obstruction secondary to inferior turbinate hypertrophy (ITH). METHODS: This study was a prospective and unblinded clinical trial. We included 22 subjects suffering from chronic nasal obstruction secondary to ITH. TVDT was performed on all subjects before the operation, and RF energy was delivered to three different sites of each turbinate. Nasal obstruction was evaluated by visual analog score (VAS) preoperatively, after TVDT, and 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, and 24t weeks after surgery. Success rates of RFVTR and gain ratios of RFVTR and TVDT were calculated. RESULTS: Significant improvements were observed in success ratios by RFVTR between the 2nd and 12th weeks. Postoperative VAS values reached to VAS value achieved by TVDT at the 8th week. Correlation analysis re
