Evaluation of efficacy of the Olyfrin spray in treatment of patients with atrophic rhinitis using the Russian-language version of SNOT-25 questionnaire with Houser's modifications

Atrophic rhinitis at the same time significantly reduces the quality of life of patients suffering from it and is a refractory pathology. The current therapy for the disease includes conservative and sometimes surgical treatment. Nevertheless, the problem of effective therapeutic method remains to be relevant and requires the search for new medicines. Also, there is no tool for assessing the severity of symptoms and quality of life in patients with atrophic rhinitis. The internationally accepted SNOT-25 (Sino-Nasal Outcome Test-25) questionnaire with Houser’s modifications is used to assess the severity of symptoms of patients with empty nose syndrome and could be successfully applied for examination of patients with atrophic rhinitis. Research objectives. This research is aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the Russian nasal spray Olyfrin in the treatment of atrophic rhinitis. And also, to assess the possibility of using the SNOT 25 questionnaire with Houser’s modifications to determine symptom severity of atrophic rhinitis. Materials and Methods. At the first stage - validation of the SNOT-25 questionnaire modified by Houser - 64 patients were included in the study: 29 patients with atrophic rhinitis, 35 with other forms of chronic rhinitis. All patients filled in a prepared and adapted Russian-language version of the questionnaire. At the second stage - determination of the effectiveness of the spray Olyfrin in the treatment of atrophic rhinitis - the study included 29 patients with atrophic rhinitis. Olyfrin was used in 1 dose 3 times a day for 14 days. The dynamics of the severity of symptoms was assessed on the 7th and 14th days using the SNOT-25 questionnaire with Houser’s modifications. Analysis of the total number of points according to SNOT 25 with Houser’s modifications, along with the number of points scored for each of the questions, revealed a significant difference between the group of patients with atrophic rhinitis and the group of patients with other forms of chronic rhinitis (p <0.05). When studying the efficacy of the spray Olyfrin, statistically significant differences were found in the sum of points on the questionnaire before treatment and on the 7th day after treatment (p = 0.005), as well as before treatment and on the 14th day after treatment (p <0.001). A significant difference (p <0.05) was also obtained depending on the day of treatment with a decrease in the number of points of the severity of dryness in the nose (3.75 ± 1.55 vs 1.76 ± 1.43), sensation of excessive openness of the nose (0, 62 ± 0.26 vs 0.41 ± 0.14) and the formation of crusts in the nasal cavity (3.45 ± 1.37 vs 1.76 ± 0.87) already on the 7th day of treatment, and for all these symptoms with an additional decrease in the severity of the feeling of suffocation (1.14 ± 0.29 vs 0.28 ± 0.1) and difficulty in nasal breathing (1.62 ± 0.33 vs 0.45 ± 0.12) on the 14th day of treatment. Conclusions. According to our study, Olyfrin nasal spray is advisable to use when prescribing empirical therapy for patients with atrophic rhinitis. And to assess the quality of life and the dynamics of treatment of patients with atrophic rhinitis, the Russian-language version of the SNOT-25 questionnaire with Houser’s modifications can be successfully used.