Skip to main content
AAO-HNSF 2023 Annual Meeting & OTO Experience Main banner
Icon Legend
This session is not in your schedule.
This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.

Rhinology/Allergy

Short-term Cardiovascular Sequelae Following In-Office Posterior Nasal Nerve Cryoablation

Monday, October 2, 2023
8:54 AM - 9:00 AM East Coast USA Time
Location: MCC, 103BC

    Presenting Author(s)

  • JK

    Jackson M. King, MD

    Otolaryngology resident
    University of California (Davis) Health System
    Sacramento, California, United States

    • Co-Author(s)

  • LS

    Lane D. Squires, MD

    Associate Professor, Clinical Otolaryngology
    University of California (Davis) Health System
    Sacramento, California, United States

  • Daniel J. Cates, MD

    Associate Professor
    University of California, San Diego
    La Jolla, CA, United States

  • ES

    E. Bradley Strong, MD

    Professor
    UC Davis Health-Otolaryngology
    Sacramento, California, United States

    • Senior Author(s)

  • Toby O. Steele, MD

    Associate Professor
    UC Davis Department of Otolaryngology
    Sacramento, CA, United States

Disclosure(s):
Jackson M. King, MD: No relevant relationships to disclose.
Daniel J. Cates, MD: No relevant relationships to disclose.
E Bradley -.- Strong, MD: No relevant relationships to disclose.
Toby O. Steele, MD: No relevant relationships to disclose.
Introduction: Posterior nasal nerve (PNN) cryoablation is a novel treatment option for patients with chronic rhinitis. However, little is known about the potential cardiovascular sequelae of these procedures. We aimed to evaluate the post-procedural cardiovascular effects of PNN cryoablation in comparison to inferior turbinate reduction (ITR).

Methods: This prospective, cohort study included patients over 18 years of age who underwent in-office PNN cryoablation or ITR via submucosal radiofrequency ablation between 2019 and 2022. Cardiovascular parameters including systolic blood pressure (SBP), heart rate (HR), as well as Wong-Baker visual analog pain scale (VAS), were collected at baseline and peri-operatively. Maximum changes in SBP, HR, and VAS were recorded in addition to the amount of time to maximum and time to return to baseline.

Results: A total of fourteen patients were enrolled in the study (9 PNN, 5 ITR). The median maximum change in SBP in the PNN and ITR groups was 44 (IQR 28,47) and 13 (IQR 6,28) respectively (p=.06). The median time to return to baseline for SBP was statistically significant at 17.5 minutes (IQR 10,45) in the PNN group compared to 0 (IQR 0,5) in the ITR group (p=.01). The median duration of time post procedure to the maximal SBP recording for the PNN group was 5 minutes while the maximum SBP recorded for the ITR group was at the time of procedure and returned to baseline by 10 minutes for all patients in this group. No differences in HR were noted (p=.10). VAS pain scores were not significantly different between groups (p =.10).

Conclusions: PNN cryoablation is associated with prolonged effects on SBP in comparison to ITR when using an identical in-office anesthesia protocol. Surgeons offering this procedure should be aware of these effects when counseling patients and developing a protocol for post-procedure monitoring.