Rx improves nasal symptoms in laryngopharyngeal reflux

(HealthDay)—For patients with laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR), anti-reflux medication is associated with improvement in nasal parameters, according to a study published online March 9 in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery.

Elif Dagli, M.D., from the Kecioren Training and Research Hospital in Ankara, Turkey, and colleagues conducted a prospective observational study involving 50 patients with Reflux Symptom Index higher than 13 and Reflux Finding Score higher than 7, as well as 50 controls. The LPR group was given oral anti-reflux medication for 12 weeks.

The researchers observed a significant decrease in all parameters after treatment. The median total nasal resistance (TNR) scores in the LPR group were 0.29 and 0.19 before and after treatment, respectively. For the control group, the median TNR score was 0.20. Before treatment, the TNR scores of the LPR group were higher than the control group (difference, −0.77), whereas they were almost the same after treatment (difference, 0.01). The median Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation scores were 0.29 and 0.19, before and after treatment, respectively, in the LPR group, compared with 0.20 for the control group.

"Laryngopharyngeal reflux had a negative effect on nasal resistance and nasal congestion," the authors write. "Treatment was associated with improved subjective and objective nasal findings."