Effect of Nasal Steroids on Nasal Obstruction in Septal Deviation: A Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective: This study sought to prospectively determine the effect of intranasal steroids versus placebo on nasal obstruction in septal deviation. Methods: This was a single-center randomized placebo-controlled double-blind trial with crossover in which all study participants received 6 weeks of therapy with Nasacort (Chattem, Inc.) and with Ayr saline spray (B.F. Ascher). Participants were randomized to one of two groups with a 2-week washout period between drugs. Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation (NOSE) scores were collected at baseline and after each study drug. A subset of patients subsequently underwent surgical intervention after both drugs and additional NOSE scores were collected postoperatively. Results: Forty-two patients completed both study drugs with NOSE scores collected. Thirty-two patients underwent surgery and postoperative NOSE scores were collected. There was no significant difference in baseline demographics between the groups. There was no significant difference in mean NOSE scores in either group from baseline to the completion of the first and second study drugs. There was no difference in the change in mean NOSE score from baseline to postsaline (-3.9) versus baseline to poststeroid (-5.8, p = 0.60). Surgery resulted in a significant change in NOSE score at all postoperative time points (mean of -50, range of -47.2 to -53.6). Conclusions: We found no significant effect of intranasal steroids on nasal obstruction as compared with placebo. Surgery, however, was associated with significant sustained improvement in nasal obstruction. These data suggest that in patients with nasal obstruction due to a fixed cause, medical therapy with intranasal steroids is unlikely to be beneficial.