Abstract:Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of the resection of posterior nasal nerve (PNN) with low-temperature plasma knife via nasal endoscope in treatment of refractory allergic rhinitis (RAR).Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 25 patients who were treated with resection of posterior nasal nerve with low-temperature plasma knife via nasal endoscope from January 2018 to December 2018. Nasal obstruction, rhinocnesmus, rhinorrhea, sneezing and the general condition of nasal symptoms of the patients before and one year after the treatment was evaluated and analyzed using the visual analogue scale (VAS). In addition, the improvement and control of nasal obstruction, rhinocnesmus, rhinorrhea, sneezing and the general condition of nasal symptoms were compared between patients with ≤ 2 branches of posterior nasal nerve cut off and those with > 2 branches cut off.Results Preoperative VAS scores of nasal obstruction, rhinocnesmus, rhinorrhea, sneezing and the general condition of nasal symptoms were (8.38 ± 1.12), (7.21 ± 0.98), (7.60 ± 1.12), (5.45 ± 1.04) and (8.89 ± 1.01), respectively. There were (2.60 ± 0.39), (2.29 ± 0.12), (2.65 ± 0.24), (1.52 ± 0.6) and (2.43 ± 1.05), respectively after one year of the operation. The differences were all statistically significant (P < 0.05), the overall VAS of nasal symptoms decreased one year after surgery. The scores of nasal obstruction, rhinocnesmus, rhinorrhea, sneezing and the general condition of nasal symptoms after the operation for patients with > 2 branches cut off were (3.84 ± 1.03), (3.58 ± 1.09), (4.98 ± 1.47), (4.24 ± 0.56) and (8.06 ± 0.26), respectively. There were (4.42 ± 1.02), (4.42 ± 0.67), (5.36 ± 0.98), (5.42 ± 1.14) and (10.08 ± 1.32), respectively after the operation for patients with ≤ 2 branches cut off. Between the two groups, the scores for nasal obstruction and rhinorrhea were not of statistically significant difference (P > 0.05), while the scores for sneezing, rhinocnesmus, and the general condition of nasal symptoms has statistically significant difference (P < 0.05). During the follow-up period, no obvious complications such as disturbed lacrimal secretion and sensory disorders of the cheek and gum were found.Conclusion The resection of posterior nasal nerve with low temperature-plasma knife via nasal endoscope have advantages include being able to effectively relieve the nasal symptoms of RAR patients, remarkable short-term efficacy, clear localization of posterior nasal nerve, clear surgical field, convenient and safe operation, micro trauma, and fewer postoperative complications, which make it worthy of extending clinical application.