Author(s)
Ayham Alkarmi, MD
Majd Roufail, MD
Yusuf Gulleth, MD, MPH, FACS
Affiliation(s)
Boston Medical Center;
Abstract:
Introduction:
This study aims to investigate whether surgery can improve or eliminate mouth breathing in patients with nasal obstruction.
Methods:
This prospective, single-arm, open-label study enrolled 70 patients aged 7 to 73 years with nasal obstruction and habitual mouth breathing. All participants underwent nasal surgery comprising uncinectomy, anterior ethmoidectomy, bilateral inferior turbinate reduction, nasal swell body reduction, septoplasty, and adenoidectomy as needed. Pre- and post-operative symptom scores were collected at 3 months using the NOSE and SNOT-22 for sino-nasal symptoms, and the validated Mouth Breathing Quality of life score (MBQ) and Mouth Breathing Sign Score (MBS). The primary outcome was the change in symptom scores across the four questionnaires post-surgery. Secondary outcomes assessed the correlation between sino-nasal and mouth breathing symptom scores. Data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test and Pearson correlation test in SPSS.
Results:
Of the 70 patients who completed the survey, 44 were male and 26 were female, with ages ranging from 7 to 73 years (Mean 31.83, SD 18.05). Post-surgical evaluation revealed statistically significant improvements in all four metrics: MBQ (p < 0.001), MBS (p < 0.001), SNOT-22 (p < 0.001), and NOSE (p < 0.001). Pearson correlation analysis revealed a statistically significant positive relationship between improvements in MBQ and MBS scores and those of SNOT-22 and NOSE.
Conclusions:
Surgical correction of nasal obstruction can significantly improve or eliminate mouth breathing in patients of all ages. Research has shown a strong link between nasal obstruction and mouth breathing.