Background: Airway integrated nasal packing reportedly improves body oxygenation after septal surgery. This randomized controlled study examined the effect of airway integrated nasal packing on oxygen saturation. Methods: Eighty patients with septal deviation and hypertrophic turbinate were randomly divided into two groups: Group 1 patients were postoperatively packed with airway integrated Nasopore, and Group 2 patients were postoperatively packed with Nasopore without airway integration. The haemodynamic parameters and SpO2 (oxyhemoglobin saturation levels when measured using pulse oximetry) were sequentially checked. Nasal pain sensations were recorded using a visual analog scale. Results: SpO2 was not significantly different between Groups 1 and 2. Nasal pain levels were significantly higher in Group 1 than in Group 2 at both 4 (p = 0.034) and 6 (p = 0.001) hours postoperatively. There were no significant differences between the two groups in the incidences of septal haematoma, perforation, or bleeding, or in sequentially checked heart rate, mean blood pressure, or respiration rate. Conclusion: It was not evident that integrated airways improved the reduction of SpO2. However, Group 1 patients, with integrated airways, had more pain than did Group 2 patients, without integrated airways. Evidence level: 1b.

Lung ischemia‐reperfusion injury (LIRI) stimulates airway vagal chemosensors. We hypothesize that the stimulation is mediated by increased production of oxygen free radicals (OFRs). Two questions are asked: 1) Does increased production of OFRs by injecting a mixture of xanthine/xanthine oxidase into the receptive field stimulate airway chemosensors? 2) Can reduction of OFRs by intravenous infusion of superoxide dismutase (SOD) prevent LIRI induced chemosensor stimulation? Rabbits were anesthetized, the lungs were mechanically ventilated, the chest was opened, and airway chemosensor activities were recorded from the vagus nerve. LIRI was produced by closing (30 min) and then releasing (15 min) a snare around the pulmonary artery. Chemosensors activity increased sharply after local injection of xanthine/xanthine oxidase and peaked within 10 sec. The increased activity recovered within a min or so. The results demonstrate that the chemosensors are sensitive to increased OFRs. Chemosensor discharge (21±10 imp/min; baseline) increased to 56±36 imp/min (n=9; P=0.022) during the first min of reperfusion. Such increased activities after LIRI did not exist when SOD was infused intravenously for 20 min before reperfusion. Thus, antioxidants blocked the sensory response to LIRI. Our results support the hypothesis that LIRI activates airway chemosensors, which is mediated by increased production of OFRs.