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Objective: To evaluate the psychometric properties of the nasal obstruction symptom scale within a sample of pediatric patients undergoing septoplasty or functional septorhinoplasty., Study Design: This was a prospective study with nasal obstruction symptom scale evaluations conducted pre- and postoperatively., Setting: A tertiary care pediatric hospital., Subjects and Methods: Pediatric patients underwent septoplasty or functional septorhinoplasty (FSR) from January 2013 to January 2017. Reliability of the scale was assessed through measures of internal consistency. In addition, item response models of each item were evaluated to assess how well each item captured individuals with varying levels of nasal obstruction. Study authors assessed face validity, and construct validity was assessed by correlation measures between items and exploratory factor analysis., Results: A total of 136 patients, ages 8 to 18 years with a mean age of 15.7 ± 2.1 years, completed pre- and postoperative evaluations. Internal consistency of the scale was high (Cronbach's α = 0.83). Predominantly a unidimensional scale resulted from exploratory factor analyses. Item response models indicate questions capture low to moderate levels of nasal obstruction within this population. Additional analyses show the scale functions similarly between septoplasty and FSR patients., Conclusion: The Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation scale is a robust tool that may be incorporated as a subjective evaluation of severity of nasal obstruction among pediatric patients undergoing a septoplasty or functional septorhinoplasty.

Objective: This study assessed disease-specific quality-of-life outcomes among pediatric patients undergoing septoplasty or functional septorhinoplasty. The Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation (NOSE) score was obtained pre- and post-operatively. Additional analyses determined whether demographics, nasal trauma, prior nasal surgery, or allergic rhinitis history affected NOSE scores., Methods: Patients undergoing septoplasty or functional septorhinoplasty were evaluated prospectively at a tertiary children's hospital. NOSE scores were assessed pre- and post-operatively. Change in NOSE score was analyzed using the Wilcoxon Signed Rank test, while multiple regression analysis evaluated factors associated with NOSE score change., Results: 136 patients (mean age 15.7 ± 2.1 years) were evaluated; 52 (38.2%) underwent septoplasty while 84 (61.8%) underwent functional septorhinoplasty. Mean follow-up was 3.6 ± 5.1 months. There was a statistically significant decrease in NOSE score from pre-operative septoplasty and functional septorhinoplasty: median = 75 to post-operative septoplasty: median = 20 (z = -5.9, p < 0.001) and functional septorhinoplasty: median = 15 (z = -7.9, p < 0.001). Gender, age, nasal trauma, prior nasal surgery, and allergic rhinitis did not have a significant effect on NOSE score change for either group. Additional surgery at the time of procedure was not a confounding variable in the relationship between surgery type and NOSE score. A NOSE Scale reliability analysis demonstrated high internal consistency with Cronbach's α of 0.83 across septoplasty and functional septorhinoplasty patients., Conclusion: There was significant improvement in disease-specific quality-of-life in pediatric patients undergoing septoplasty or functional septorhinoplasty. Gender, nasal trauma, prior nasal surgery, and allergic rhinitis did not significantly affect NOSE scores in either group., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)