Short report: nasal obstruction recovery after septoplasty in patients with nasal septal deviation affected by anxiety and depression

This research was aimed to explore whether the recovery of subjective symptoms and objective examination in nasal septum deviation (NSD) patients after septoplasty were related to the degree of preoperative anxiety or depression, in the hope of providing new ideas for clinical treatment. A total of 150 NSD patients were included in this prospective research. Visual analogue scale (VAS) scores, Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation (NOSE) scores, self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) scores, self-rating depression scale (SDS) scores, total inspiratory and expiratory nasal resistance were recorded before and 6 months after operation. The results showed preoperative anxiety or depression was not statistically different between groups in terms of age, gender and course, but positively correlated with nasal obstruction (VAS and NOSE). The recovery of nasal obstruction in patients with anxiety or depression was worse than that in normal NSD patients 6 months after surgery, and was decreased with the increase of anxiety or depression degree. And no significant difference showed in the reduction of total inspiratory and expiratory nasal resistance between groups. In conclusion, anxiety and depression affected the improvement of nasal obstruction feeling in NSD patients after septoplasty, and the improvement was negatively correlated with the degree of anxiety and depression. It is necessary to evaluate the anxiety and depression of NSD patients before septoplasty.