Temperature‐controlled radiofrequency neurolysis for treatment of chronic rhinitis: 12‐month outcomes after treatment in a randomized controlled trial

Temperature‐controlled radiofrequency (TCRF) neurolysis of the posterior nasal nerve (PNN) area for the treatment of chronic rhinitis was previously reported as superior to a sham‐control procedure at 3 months postprocedure in a randomized controlled trial (RCT). The primary endpoint was a responder rate of ≥30% improvement (decrease) for 24‐hour reflective total nasal symptom score (rTNSS) compared with baseline. In this study, 12‐month outcomes after active treatment is reported. The study results showed that the patients in the index active treatment arm (n = 77) had a mean baseline rTNSS of 8.3 (95% confidence interval [CI], 7.9‐8.7). At 12 months, the responder rate was 80.6% (n = 67) (95% CI, 69.1%‐89.2%). At 12 months, the mean change in rTNSS was −4.8 (95% CI, −5.5 to −4.1; p < 0.001), a 57.8% improvement. The available initial rTNSS‐based outcomes in the crossover active treatment arm (n = 27) followed the same course as the index treatment arm. No serious adverse events and 8 adverse events related to the device/procedure were reported in the trial to date. Based on the evidence, it was concluded that TCRF neurolysis of the PNN area is safe, and the symptom burden improvement that was superior to a sham procedure at 3 months was sustained through 12 months.