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

NCT ID: NCT00358267

Last Updated: 2016-02-26

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

Get a concise snapshot of the trial, including recruitment status, study phase, enrollment targets, and key timeline milestones.

Recruitment Status

WITHDRAWN

Clinical Phase

NA

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2006-07-31

Study Completion Date

2009-03-31

Brief Summary

Review the sponsor-provided synopsis that highlights what the study is about and why it is being conducted.

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:

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.

Detailed Description

Dive into the extended narrative that explains the scientific background, objectives, and procedures in greater depth.

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.

Conditions

See the medical conditions and disease areas that this research is targeting or investigating.

Nasal Obstruction Septal Deformity Turbinate Hypertrophy

Study Design

Understand how the trial is structured, including allocation methods, masking strategies, primary purpose, and other design elements.

Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

Review each arm or cohort in the study, along with the interventions and objectives associated with them.

RFA

Radiofrequency 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.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA)

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

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.

PRIT

Partial Resection of Inferior Turbinate (PRIT) involves surgically removing a small piece off the turbinate, which also reduces its size.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Partial Resection of Inferior Turbinates (PRIT)

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

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

Interventions

Learn about the drugs, procedures, or behavioral strategies being tested and how they are applied within this trial.

Partial Resection of Inferior Turbinates (PRIT)

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

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA)

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.

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

Eligibility Criteria

Check the participation requirements, including inclusion and exclusion rules, age limits, and whether healthy volunteers are accepted.

Inclusion Criteria

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

Exclusion Criteria

* 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
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

Meet the organizations funding or collaborating on the study and learn about their roles.

Weill Medical College of Cornell University

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

Identify the individual or organization who holds primary responsibility for the study information submitted to regulators.

Weill Medical College of Cornell University

Principal Investigators

Learn about the lead researchers overseeing the trial and their institutional affiliations.

Michael G Stewart, MD, MPH

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Weill Medical College of Cornell University

Locations

Explore where the study is taking place and check the recruitment status at each participating site.

Weill Medical College of Cornell University

New York, New York, United States

Site Status

Countries

Review the countries where the study has at least one active or historical site.

United States

References

Explore related publications, articles, or registry entries linked to this study.

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.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 15054369 (View on PubMed)

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.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 14574290 (View on PubMed)

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.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 8326220 (View on PubMed)

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.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 1448533 (View on PubMed)

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.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 4033334 (View on PubMed)

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.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 3718689 (View on PubMed)

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

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 11777241 (View on PubMed)

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.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 15054368 (View on PubMed)

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.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 14990910 (View on PubMed)

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.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 10334213 (View on PubMed)

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.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 9852527 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

Review additional registry numbers or institutional identifiers associated with this trial.

0603008446

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

More Related Trials

Additional clinical trials that may be relevant based on similarity analysis.