A new treatment for chronic rhinitis
Reviewed by Joanna Stephens

The review paper looks at the efficacy of cryoablation of the posterior nasal nerve (PNN) to treat chronic rhinitis, an increasingly popular method of treating a highly prevalent and morbidity-inducing disease. Five studies were included in the meta-analysis, all dating from 2017 onwards, reflecting the relatively novel nature of this treatment modality. The total number of patients across all five papers was 247. The studies had outcome measures of: rTNSS, RQLQ, nsVAS, SNOT 22 and NOSE score. Across all five studies, using all five outcome measures, and in all types of chronic rhinitis subtypes, improvements were seen. The commonest complications of this surgery include facial or surgical site pain (40.4%), headache (18.2%), oral numbness (11.1%) and sinusitis (4%). Some studies found a more beneficial effect in patients with NAR than for those with AR, although both groups displayed improved symptom scores, and the most benefits were seen when assessing rTNSS. In summary, this new technique appears to be a very promising addition to the treatment options for patients with chronic nasal symptoms, but long-term data on efficacy and complications is not yet available, so more robust RCT’s and long-term studies will be valuable.

Efficacy of cryoblation on chronic rhinitis management: A systematic review and meta-analyisis.
Young K, Bulosan H, Kejriwal S, et al.
AM J RHINOL ALLERGY
2023;37(4):502-11.