International Journal of Otorhinolaryngology

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Assessment of Nasal Breathing Using Lip Taping: A Simple and Effective Screening Tool

Received: Jan. 15, 2020    Accepted: Feb. 12, 2020    Published: Feb. 24, 2020
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Abstract

Objectives: Subjective assessment of nasal obstruction with patient-reported outcome measures such as visual analogue scale and NOSE score may be limited in chronic mouth breathing subjects who are not consciously aware of nasal breathing difficulties. This study investigates a simple objective screening tool to assess the capacity for comfortable nasal breathing that is based on sealing the lips and mouth with tape and assessing whether the subject can breathe comfortably through the nose for up to three minutes. Method: Cross-sectional, multi-center cohort study with 663 participants (ages: 3-83 years, 50.5% female). Lips were gently sealed using MicroPore paper tape; timer was used to assess how long the participants were able to breathe comfortably through the nose for up to 180 seconds. Other measures included subjective rating of perceived difficulty with nasal breathing (VAS, 0-100) as well as self-assessed reports of mouth breathing. Results: There were 9.3% of patients with subjective reports of moderate to severe nasal obstruction (VAS> 50) and 17.2% of patients with predominance of self-reported mouth breathing in this series. Overall, 93.4% of participants successfully passed the nasal breathing test. Among patients with habitual mouth breathing, 83.5% (91/109) were able to breathe comfortably through the nose when instructed to do so for the entire 3-minute duration tested. Similarly, there were 67% (40/59) patients with VAS score >50 who could breathe comfortably through the nose for >180 seconds despite subjective reports of moderate to severe nasal obstruction. Participants unable to breathe exclusively through the nose for 180 seconds had increased likelihood of mouth breathing while awake (OR 4.12, 95% confidence interval 2.14-7.89, p<.0001) as well as increased odds of mouth breathing while asleep (OR 3.05, 95% confidence interval 1.61-5.72, p=0.0003). Conclusion: Objectively testing whether a subject can breathe through the nose with the lips and mouth taped for three minutes can identify patients at risk of mouth breathing and is a simple and effecting screening tool to distinguish organic nasal obstruction from functional mouth breathing habit and or nasal resistance.

DOI 10.11648/j.ijo.20200601.13
Published in International Journal of Otorhinolaryngology ( Volume 6, Issue 1, June 2020 )
Page(s) 10-15
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Nasal Breathing, Assessment Tool, Nasal Obstruction, Mouth Breathing, Lip Taping, Lip Seal Test

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Soroush Zaghi, Cynthia Peterson, Shayan Shamtoob, Brigitte Fung, Daniel Kwok-keung Ng, et al. (2020). Assessment of Nasal Breathing Using Lip Taping: A Simple and Effective Screening Tool. International Journal of Otorhinolaryngology, 6(1), 10-15. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijo.20200601.13

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    ACS Style

    Soroush Zaghi; Cynthia Peterson; Shayan Shamtoob; Brigitte Fung; Daniel Kwok-keung Ng, et al. Assessment of Nasal Breathing Using Lip Taping: A Simple and Effective Screening Tool. Int. J. Otorhinolaryngol. 2020, 6(1), 10-15. doi: 10.11648/j.ijo.20200601.13

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    AMA Style

    Soroush Zaghi, Cynthia Peterson, Shayan Shamtoob, Brigitte Fung, Daniel Kwok-keung Ng, et al. Assessment of Nasal Breathing Using Lip Taping: A Simple and Effective Screening Tool. Int J Otorhinolaryngol. 2020;6(1):10-15. doi: 10.11648/j.ijo.20200601.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijo.20200601.13,
      author = {Soroush Zaghi and Cynthia Peterson and Shayan Shamtoob and Brigitte Fung and Daniel Kwok-keung Ng and Triin Jagomagi and Nicole Archambault and Bridget O’Connor and Kathy Winslow and Zahra Peeran and Miche’ Lano and Janine Murdock and Sanda Valcu-Pinkerton and Lenore Morrissey},
      title = {Assessment of Nasal Breathing Using Lip Taping: A Simple and Effective Screening Tool},
      journal = {International Journal of Otorhinolaryngology},
      volume = {6},
      number = {1},
      pages = {10-15},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijo.20200601.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijo.20200601.13},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijo.20200601.13},
      abstract = {Objectives: Subjective assessment of nasal obstruction with patient-reported outcome measures such as visual analogue scale and NOSE score may be limited in chronic mouth breathing subjects who are not consciously aware of nasal breathing difficulties. This study investigates a simple objective screening tool to assess the capacity for comfortable nasal breathing that is based on sealing the lips and mouth with tape and assessing whether the subject can breathe comfortably through the nose for up to three minutes. Method: Cross-sectional, multi-center cohort study with 663 participants (ages: 3-83 years, 50.5% female). Lips were gently sealed using MicroPore paper tape; timer was used to assess how long the participants were able to breathe comfortably through the nose for up to 180 seconds. Other measures included subjective rating of perceived difficulty with nasal breathing (VAS, 0-100) as well as self-assessed reports of mouth breathing. Results: There were 9.3% of patients with subjective reports of moderate to severe nasal obstruction (VAS> 50) and 17.2% of patients with predominance of self-reported mouth breathing in this series. Overall, 93.4% of participants successfully passed the nasal breathing test. Among patients with habitual mouth breathing, 83.5% (91/109) were able to breathe comfortably through the nose when instructed to do so for the entire 3-minute duration tested. Similarly, there were 67% (40/59) patients with VAS score >50 who could breathe comfortably through the nose for >180 seconds despite subjective reports of moderate to severe nasal obstruction. Participants unable to breathe exclusively through the nose for 180 seconds had increased likelihood of mouth breathing while awake (OR 4.12, 95% confidence interval 2.14-7.89, pConclusion: Objectively testing whether a subject can breathe through the nose with the lips and mouth taped for three minutes can identify patients at risk of mouth breathing and is a simple and effecting screening tool to distinguish organic nasal obstruction from functional mouth breathing habit and or nasal resistance.},
     year = {2020}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Assessment of Nasal Breathing Using Lip Taping: A Simple and Effective Screening Tool
    AU  - Soroush Zaghi
    AU  - Cynthia Peterson
    AU  - Shayan Shamtoob
    AU  - Brigitte Fung
    AU  - Daniel Kwok-keung Ng
    AU  - Triin Jagomagi
    AU  - Nicole Archambault
    AU  - Bridget O’Connor
    AU  - Kathy Winslow
    AU  - Zahra Peeran
    AU  - Miche’ Lano
    AU  - Janine Murdock
    AU  - Sanda Valcu-Pinkerton
    AU  - Lenore Morrissey
    Y1  - 2020/02/24
    PY  - 2020
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijo.20200601.13
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijo.20200601.13
    T2  - International Journal of Otorhinolaryngology
    JF  - International Journal of Otorhinolaryngology
    JO  - International Journal of Otorhinolaryngology
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    EP  - 15
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2472-2413
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    AB  - Objectives: Subjective assessment of nasal obstruction with patient-reported outcome measures such as visual analogue scale and NOSE score may be limited in chronic mouth breathing subjects who are not consciously aware of nasal breathing difficulties. This study investigates a simple objective screening tool to assess the capacity for comfortable nasal breathing that is based on sealing the lips and mouth with tape and assessing whether the subject can breathe comfortably through the nose for up to three minutes. Method: Cross-sectional, multi-center cohort study with 663 participants (ages: 3-83 years, 50.5% female). Lips were gently sealed using MicroPore paper tape; timer was used to assess how long the participants were able to breathe comfortably through the nose for up to 180 seconds. Other measures included subjective rating of perceived difficulty with nasal breathing (VAS, 0-100) as well as self-assessed reports of mouth breathing. Results: There were 9.3% of patients with subjective reports of moderate to severe nasal obstruction (VAS> 50) and 17.2% of patients with predominance of self-reported mouth breathing in this series. Overall, 93.4% of participants successfully passed the nasal breathing test. Among patients with habitual mouth breathing, 83.5% (91/109) were able to breathe comfortably through the nose when instructed to do so for the entire 3-minute duration tested. Similarly, there were 67% (40/59) patients with VAS score >50 who could breathe comfortably through the nose for >180 seconds despite subjective reports of moderate to severe nasal obstruction. Participants unable to breathe exclusively through the nose for 180 seconds had increased likelihood of mouth breathing while awake (OR 4.12, 95% confidence interval 2.14-7.89, pConclusion: Objectively testing whether a subject can breathe through the nose with the lips and mouth taped for three minutes can identify patients at risk of mouth breathing and is a simple and effecting screening tool to distinguish organic nasal obstruction from functional mouth breathing habit and or nasal resistance.
    VL  - 6
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • The Breathe Institute, Los Angeles, CA, USA

  • The Breathe Institute, Los Angeles, CA, USA

  • The Breathe Institute, Los Angeles, CA, USA

  • Kwong Wah Hospital, Hong Kong SAR

  • Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital, Hong Kong SAR

  • University of Tartu, Institute of Dentistry, Unimed United Clinics, Estonia

  • Minds in Motion, Santa Monica, CA, USA

  • O’Connor Dental Health, Ballincollig, Cork, Ireland

  • Independent Researcher, Halfmoon Bay, USA

  • Happy Kids Dental Planet, Agoura Hills, CA, USA

  • South County Pediatric Speech, Mission Viejo, USA

  • South County Pediatric Speech, Mission Viejo, USA

  • The Breathe Institute, Los Angeles, CA, USA

  • Be Well Collaborative Care, Huntington Beach, CA

  • Section