Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33249769›Full record

ArticleInternational forum of allergy & rhinology2021

Inferior meatus augmentation procedure (IMAP) normalizes nasal airflow patterns in empty nose syndrome patients via computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling.

Jennifer Malik, Sachi Dholakia, Barak M Spector, Angela Yang, Dayoung Kim, Nicole A Borchard, Andrew Thamboo, Kai Zhao, Jayakar V Nayak

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in International forum of allergy & rhinology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
12citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
3.7field-weighted citation impact, top 6% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 33 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Does Total Inferior and Middle Turbinectomy Always Lead to Empty Nose Syndrome?Otolaryngology--head and neck surgery : official journal of American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery · 2026
    Article
  5. Article
  6. From Dry Cavities to Healing Pathways: Innovations in Managing Empty Nose Syndrome.Indian journal of otolaryngology and head and neck surgery : official publication of the Association of Otolaryngologists of India · 2025
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Utility of Serum Interleukine-6 Level in Empty Nose Syndrome.International journal of medical sciences · 2023
    Article
  12. Clinical perspectives on nasopharyngeal morphology in humans.Anatomical record (Hoboken, N.J. : 2007) · 2022
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Jennifer MalikDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH.
Sachi DholakiaDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Stanford University, Stanford, CA.ORCID 0000-0002-4484-5123
Barak M SpectorDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH.
Angela YangDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Stanford University, Stanford, CA.
Dayoung KimDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Stanford University, Stanford, CA.
Nicole A BorchardDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Stanford University, Stanford, CA.
Andrew ThambooDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Stanford University, Stanford, CA.
Kai ZhaoDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH.ORCID 0000-0003-4805-2689
Jayakar V NayakDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Stanford University, Stanford, CA.
Stanford University · USThe Ohio State University · US

Funding

Objective evaluation of conductive olfactory losses & nasal obstruction symptomsR01DC013626 · NIDCD · OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY · PI ZHAO, KAI · 2015 to 2018
$1.6M
Endoscopic nasal sinus surgery simulator to optimize treatment outcomeR21DC017530 · NIDCD · OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY · PI ZHAO, KAI · 2019 to 2020
$442k
NIDCD NIH HHS R01 DC013626NIDCD NIH HHS R21 DC017530
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundEmpty nose syndrome (ENS) is a controversial upper airway disorder most commonly associated with tissue loss from the inferior turbinates. The inferior meatus augmentation procedure (IMAP) has been shown to effectively reduce ENS symptoms in a durable manner, but the precise mechanisms that may govern this symptomatic improvement remain unknown.

methodsFive patients with ENS who underwent bilateral IMAP via submucosal costal cartilage implant were assessed. Pre-implant and 6 months post-implant computed tomography (CT) imaging for each ENS patient was analyzed in a blinded fashion using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling to investigate intrapatient changes in airflow parameters.

resultsFollowing surgery, ENS patients have significantly improved symptoms as indexed by Empty Nose Syndrome 6-Item Questionnaire (ENS6Q) scoring (pre-implant: 14.00 ± 4.06 [mean ± standard deviation]; 95% confidence interval [CI], 10.44 to 17.56; post-implant: 4.8 ± 2.77; 95% CI, 2.37 to 7.23; Cohen's d = 2.64; p = 0.02). Using CFD, a significant shift in nasal airflow patterns was observed, where airflow deviates away from the middle meatus upon hitting the implant (pre-implant: 67.13% ± 11.14%; 95% CI, 60.22% to 74.04%; post-implant: 46.18% ± 12.81%; 95% CI, 38.23% to 54.12%; d = 1.74; p < 0.05) toward the inferior meatus (pre-implant: 30.55% ± 11.29%; 95% CI, 23.55% to 37.55%; post-implant: 42.59% ± 9.60%; 95% CI, 36.63 to 48.54%; d = 1.14; p < 0.05). No significant changes were found in nasal resistance (pre-implant: 0.102 ± 0.015; 95% CI, 0.092 to 0.112 Pa*s/mL; post-implant: 0.105 ± 0.041; 95% CI, 0.081 to 0.130 Pa*s/mL). In addition, the improvement of ENS6Q scoring significantly correlated with percent reduction in aberrant airflow through the middle meatus (R

conclusionThis study supports our prior working hypothesis that disordered vectors of nasal airflow congregate in the middle meatus contribute to ENS symptoms, not nasal resistance. Moreover, these data illuminate a paradoxical, but consistent, restoration of nasal airflow to the inferior meatus following the replacement of turbinate tissue volume in the inferior meatus via IMAP surgery, potentially due to the Coandă effect.

Indexed as

Nasal ObstructionNose DiseasesHumansHydrodynamicsSurveys and QuestionnairesSyndromeTurbinatesCFDcomputational fluid dynamicsempty nose syndromeENSIMAPinferior meatus augmentation procedurenasal air flow modeling

Identifiers

PMID33249769
PMCPMC8062271
OpenAlexW3107680165

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.