Acoustic Rhinometry (AR) measures the relationship of the cross-sectional area and
the distance into the nasal cavity. Great efforts have been done to validate and
standardize its clinical use. Inspite of many researches done in Egypt by AR, there
are no normal National Egyptian Physiological gold standards of MCA, DMCA and
NCV like many other countries. This study was carried out to establish local
reference values for AR parameters in healthy normal adults. One hundred and thirty
healthy volunteer students of the Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University in the
age range from 18 to 24 years, who were free from any nasal problems by history and
examination, were subjected to AR testing in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology,
Suez Canal University Hospital. The AR parameters before decongestant were: mean
mMCA was 0.58 ± 0.15 cm
2
with a range 0.27- 1.00 cm
2
, the mean mDMCA was 1.92
± 0.16 cm with a range 1.62- 2.34 cm, and the mean total NCV was 12.68 ± 3.35 cm
3
and ranges from 5.11 to 21.97 cm
3
. The AR parameters after decongestant was: mean
mMCA was 0.60 ± 0.14 cm
2
with a range 0.31- 1.14 cm
2
, the mean mDMCA was 1.90
± 0.16 cm with a range 1.50- 2.46 cm, and the mean total NCV was 13.32 ± 3.79 cm
3
and ranges from 5.46 to 26.41 cm
3
. It was found that the difference between males
and females in the three AR parameters was statistically significant before and after
decongestion. Also, it was found that there were weak positive significant
correlations between the three AR parameters and height, weight and age before and
after decongestion. In this study, it was found that there were insignificant relations
between the AR parameters and the sensation of nasal cycle and the phases of
menstrual cycle, but there was a significant relation between the AR parameters and
the performance of sport activity, so other researches are needed to study the effect of
nasal cycle, hormonal changes, sport activity, effect of nasal infections and
pulmonary functions on the AR parameters.