Investigating the Effect of Cellulose Powder and Cromolyn Sodium in Controlling Allergic Rhinitis Symptoms and Quality of Life and Its Relationship with CT Scan Findings

Allergic rhinitis is an inflammatory disease of the nasal mucosa that can significantly affect the patient's daily life. Therefore, the present study was designed and conducted with the aim of investigating the effect of cellulose powder and Cromolyn sodium in controlling the symptoms of allergic rhinitis and the quality of life of patients, as well as its relationship with CT scan findings.

The present study is a clinical trial that was conducted on patients with allergic rhinitis who were referred to the ENT clinic of Baghiy A. (Aj). The study was conducted as a random and single-phase study in two groups (50 people for each group) using Cromolyn spray with a dose of 3 puffs per day and nasal spray with a dose of 3 puffs per day for 6 weeks in patients. RQLQ quality of life questionnaire, nasal endoscopy score based on Lund criteria, Kennedy score, and visual analog scale (VAS) was completed. Also, in this study, patients with a clinical diagnosis of allergic rhinitis were selected for a CT scan of the Paranasal sinuses without medical treatment. They were referred to the CT scan departments of Baqiyatullah University of Medical Sciences and underwent a Paranasal CT scan and indicators such as polyps, mild mucosal thickening without obstruction, increased bone density of the sinus wall, septal deviation, inferior corneal hypertrophy, and Conca Bellaza were investigated. Then, the findings of the CT scan were reported blindly by only one radiologist. The data collected from both study groups were compared by the respective statistical tests. The significance level for data difference was considered 0.05.

The severity of nasal congestion after 6 weeks of treatment was 2.27 ± 0.97 in the sodium Cromolyn group and 4.61 ± 1.1 in the cellulose powder group. There was a significant difference in the mean severity of nasal congestion after treatment between the two groups. (P=0.03). Statistical analysis showed that the intensity of sneezing and also the intensity of runny noses in both groups improved significantly after the completion of the treatment. (P=0.00). The mean RQLQ score after treatment was 22.525 ± 5.71 in the sodium Cromolyn group and 25.85 ± 2.91 in the cellulose powder group. There was no significant difference between the two groups in the average RQLQ score after treatment. (P=0.073). In this study, the relationship between CT scan findings in both groups of patients before and after the use of both drug categories was investigated. In this study, both groups of patients underwent CT scans before starting the treatment, and the most common findings in both groups in the CT scan were polyps, mild mucosal thickening without obstruction, increased bone density of the sinus wall, and septal deviation. hypertrophy of the inferior cornea and Conca Blesa, also according to the obtained results, no statistically significant difference was found between the findings of the CT scan in both groups (P-value<0.05).

Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that nasal decongestant can be used as an effective drug without complications in the treatment of allergic rhinitis patients due to the improvement of symptoms and quality of life. But in terms of effectiveness, it is not more effective than Cromolyn. On the other hand, there is no correlation between CT scan findings among patients with allergic rhinitis, and it can be said that the use of radiology and especially CT scans is not recommended for allergic rhinitis.