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Nasal ObstructionNCT00358267

Randomized Trial Comparing Partial Resection of Inferior Turbinate(PRIT) and Radiofrequency Ablation(RFA) for Inferior Turbinate Reduction

A study testing Partial Resection of Inferior Turbinates (PRIT) and Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) in people with Nasal Obstruction and Septal Deformity, run by Weill Medical College of Cornell University at 1 site in United States.

Withdrawn

Withdrawn. The study stopped before anyone enrolled.

Official record
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Trial summary

Turbinates are large structures in the nasal airway that help the nose to clean and humidify the air we breathe. Inferior turbinates can swell up and block the breathing passage, making it hard to breath. To address this, turbinate size must be reduced. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 years and older
What is being tested?
Partial Resection of Inferior Turbinates (PRIT) and Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA)
Type of treatment
Surgery or procedure
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
0 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
Jul 2006to Mar 2009
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 years and older
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Study subjects will be male or female, 18 years or older, with nasal septal deformity and bilateral inferior turbinate hypertrophy

Who cannot join

  • Subjects with contraindication to general anesthesia or nasal surgery
  • Additional simultaneous nasal surgery, such as sinus surgery or rhinoplasty
  • Nasal polyposis and prior inferior turbinectomy

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • Weill Medical College of Cornell University

    New York, New York, 10021

Other trials in United States

About this study

Official title: A Randomized Trial Comparing Two Surgical Techniques for Inferior Turbinate Reduction

Turbinates are large structures in the nasal airway that help the nose to clean and humidify the air we breathe. Inferior turbinates can swell up and block the breathing passage, making it hard to breath. To address this, turbinate size must be reduced.

This study looks at two common procedures for turbinate reduction:

Read more
  1. Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) involves inserting a special needle into the inferior (lower) turbinate that releases thermal energy, which significantly reduces its size. This can be done under local anesthesia at the doctor's office.
  2. Partial Resection of Inferior Turbinate (PRIT) involves surgically removing a piece off the turbinate, which also reduces its size.

While both procedures improve nasal obstruction, no study has directly compared which is more effective.

Eighty patients being treated for septal deformity and turbinate hypertrophy will be randomly chosen for either PRIT or RFA treatment. They will fill out a simple, five question survey that measures how they view their nasal blockage 4 times in one year. We believe that since PRIT permanently removes a part of the turbinate, PRIT patients will report more improvement than RFA patients one year later. We believe that complications (measured by the doctor) will be the same for both treatments.

Read the detailed description

Subjective nasal obstruction is usually caused by intranasal anatomic obstruction. A critical area is the anterior nasal valve, and nasal septal deformity and inferior turbinate hypertrophy often combine to produce symptomatic obstruction at the anterior valve.

Surgical treatments to reduce turbinate size and also to correct nasal septal deformity have been shown to be effective at improving nasal obstruction. While many studies have demonstrated the improvements after surgery, most prior studies assessed outcome using non-validated questionnaires, or primitive measures such as a single-item rating scale.

There is now a validated, patient-based, outcome instrument to assess nasal obstruction, which is valid, reliable, and sensitive: the Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation (NOSE) scale (Stewart, Witsell, et al). This brief and easy to complete instrument is a valid measure of the patient's perception of nasal obstruction. A multi-center prospective study using the NOSE scale showed that septoplasty alone resulted in significant improvement in nasal obstruction, and septoplasty with PRIT had an even larger improvement in nasal obstruction, although the difference did not reach statistical significance because of sample size (Stewart, Smith, et al). Nevertheless, turbinate reduction appeared to have some additive effect on symptomatic improvement, which is a clinical findings that has been noted by surgeons for many years.

The techniques of inferior turbinectomy have evolved over time. Initially, partial or even total resection of the inferior turbinate was performed. However, total inferior turbinate resection was found to have a high rate of several long-term complications, including excessive dryness (rhinitis sicca), atrophic rhinitis, crusting, bleeding, etc. (Moore GF, Moore EJ), and this technique is generally not performed today. By extension, many surgeons have been concerned about the potential sequelae of partial inferior turbinectomy, even though large prospective series have demonstrated excellent outcomes and minimal complications from the PRIT technique (Fanous, Ophir, Grymer, Stewart/Smith).

Several alternative techniques for turbinate volume reduction - that do not involve full-thickness resection of a portion of the turbinate - have been reported, and all seem to be effective in single-modality series (Nease, Bhattacharyya, Utley, Li). In fact, anecdotally many surgeons claim that RFA is as effective as PRIT. In addition, radiofrequency techniques can be performed under local anesthesia in the office setting, which increases the ease of use. While RFA is appealing because it can be performed under local anesthesia, the improved ease of use must be weighed against the potential for lower effectiveness, since tissue is not removed. There are no data from direct comparative studies, probably partly because there has not been a validated outcome tool available.

Therefore, sufficient clinical equipoise exists to randomize patients to receive one of these two widely-accepted techniques.

Being tested
Partial Resection of Inferior Turbinates (PRIT), Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA)
Keywords
Inferior Turbinate Reduction, Partial Resection of Inferior Turbinates (PRIT), Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA), NOSE scale, Nasal Obstruction
Medical subject headings
Nasal Obstruction

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Partial Resection of Inferior Turbinates (PRIT)Procedure or surgery

    PRIT involves surgically removing a small piece off the turbinate, which also reduces its size.

  • Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA)Procedure or surgery

    RFA involves inserting a special needle into the inferior (lower) turbinate that releases high frequency energy, which produces heat. The energy and heat cause tissue denaturation (protein damage) and vaporization. The vaporization reduces tissue volume, and denaturation causes healing with scar tissue formation and contraction of surrounding tissue. This procedure can be done under local anesthesia at the doctor's office.

Study groups in NCT00358267
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
RFAActive comparatorRadiofrequency Ablation (RFA) involves inserting a special needle into the inferior (lower) turbinate that releases high frequency energy, which produces heat. The energy and heat cause tissue denaturation (protein damage) and vaporization. The vaporization reduces tissue volume, and denaturation causes healing with scar tissue formation and contraction of surrounding tissue. This procedure can be done under local anesthesia at the doctor's office.
Receives: Procedure: Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA)
PRITActive comparatorPartial Resection of Inferior Turbinate (PRIT) involves surgically removing a small piece off the turbinate, which also reduces its size.
Receives: Procedure: Partial Resection of Inferior Turbinates (PRIT)

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. The primary endpoint for the 80 subjects enrolled will be the NOSE Score at 12 months.

    Measured: 12 months

Secondary outcomes (1)
  1. The prevalence of complications.

    Measured: 12 months

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted31 Jul 2006 (estimated)
  2. Study startJul 2006
  3. Primary completionMar 2009
  4. Study completionMar 2009

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
0 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT00358267
Sponsor's protocol ID
0603008446
Status last verified
Feb 2016
First submitted
27 Jul 2006
Last updated
26 Feb 2016
Results posted
No

Publications

  • Nease CJ, Krempl GA. Radiofrequency treatment of turbinate hypertrophy: a randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2004 Mar;130(3):291-9. doi: 10.1016/j.otohns.2003.11.003.

    PubMed 15054369
  • Bhattacharyya N, Kepnes LJ. Clinical effectiveness of coblation inferior turbinate reduction. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2003 Oct;129(4):365-71. doi: 10.1016/S0194-59980300634-X.

    PubMed 14574290
  • Grymer LF, Illum P, Hilberg O. Septoplasty and compensatory inferior turbinate hypertrophy: a randomized study evaluated by acoustic rhinometry. J Laryngol Otol. 1993 May;107(5):413-7. doi: 10.1017/s0022215100123308.

    PubMed 8326220
  • Ophir D, Schindel D, Halperin D, Marshak G. Long-term follow-up of the effectiveness and safety of inferior turbinectomy. Plast Reconstr Surg. 1992 Dec;90(6):980-4; discussion 985-7.

    PubMed 1448533
  • Moore GF, Freeman TJ, Ogren FP, Yonkers AJ. Extended follow-up of total inferior turbinate resection for relief of chronic nasal obstruction. Laryngoscope. 1985 Sep;95(9 Pt 1):1095-9.

    PubMed 4033334
  • Fanous N. Anterior turbinectomy. A new surgical approach to turbinate hypertrophy: a review of 220 cases. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1986 Aug;112(8):850-2. doi: 10.1001/archotol.1986.03780080050010.

    PubMed 3718689
  • Moore EJ, Kern EB. Atrophic rhinitis: a review of 242 cases. Am J Rhinol. 2001 Nov-Dec;15(6):355-61.

    PubMed 11777241
  • Stewart MG, Smith TL, Weaver EM, Witsell DL, Yueh B, Hannley MT, Johnson JT. Outcomes after nasal septoplasty: results from the Nasal Obstruction Septoplasty Effectiveness (NOSE) study. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2004 Mar;130(3):283-90. doi: 10.1016/j.otohns.2003.12.004.

    PubMed 15054368
  • Stewart MG, Witsell DL, Smith TL, Weaver EM, Yueh B, Hannley MT. Development and validation of the Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation (NOSE) scale. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2004 Feb;130(2):157-63. doi: 10.1016/j.otohns.2003.09.016.

    PubMed 14990910
  • Utley DS, Goode RL, Hakim I. Radiofrequency energy tissue ablation for the treatment of nasal obstruction secondary to turbinate hypertrophy. Laryngoscope. 1999 May;109(5):683-6. doi: 10.1097/00005537-199905000-00001.

    PubMed 10334213
  • Li KK, Powell NB, Riley RW, Troell RJ, Guilleminault C. Radiofrequency volumetric tissue reduction for treatment of turbinate hypertrophy: a pilot study. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1998 Dec;119(6):569-73. doi: 10.1016/S0194-5998(98)70013-0.

    PubMed 9852527

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Partial Resection of Inferior Turbinates (PRIT) and Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) in people with Nasal Obstruction and Septal Deformity, run by Weill Medical College of Cornell University at 1 site in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 1 inclusion and 3 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: withdrawn, as of the sponsor's last update on 26 Feb 2016. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study was withdrawn before enrolling participants, so there are no results.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

The primary endpoint for the 80 subjects enrolled will be the NOSE Score at 12 months. (time frame: 12 months). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT00358267, which also lists 11 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 26 Feb 2016.

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