Narrow Band Imaging Endoscopy: Novel Diagnostic Method in the Hypertrophy of Inferior Turbinates

Objectives: The narrow band imaging endoscopy (NBI) is an imaging method used by otolaryngologists for the examination of oral cavity, pharynx and larynx. Our present study was designed to determine the effectiveness of NBI in the examination of the inferior turbinate hypertrophy status. Study Design: Individual cohort study. Methods: A hundred and nine patients with enlarged inferior nasal conchae were enrolled. All subjects were examined prior to surgical intervention of conchae nasals inferior and were followed up to 6 months after the intervention. During the appointments, nasal endoscopy with white light, NBI endoscopy and the anterior rhinomanometry were performed. In addition, all subjects were asked about subjective nasal obstruction. Results: Following surgery, the number of blood vessels in the nasal concha inferior was found to be reduced in all cases studied. The vascular imaging with NBI endoscopy produced significantly better results as the white light endoscopy. The decrease in the objective concha component correlated stronger with the NBI endoscopy than with white light endoscopy; however, the difference has not reached statistical significance. Conclusion: NBI endoscopy allows fine tuning of the endoscopy scores and can therefore contribute to a standardized evaluation of the nasal inferior conchae by improving the diagnosis and monitoring of nasal mucosal vascular lesions.