Reliability and construct validity of the Ottawa valve collapse scale when assessing external nasal valve collapse

摘要

BackgroundNasal valve collapse is a common cause of nasal obstruction in otolaryngology practice. Common examination methods, such as the Cottle Maneuver and modified Cottle Maneuver are available. However, these methods are dichotomous and do not provide ordinal severity information. The Ottawa Valve Collapse Scale (OVCS) is a grading system for assessing and easily grading external nasal valve collapse in patients with a septal deviation. The primary objective was to assess the test-retest reliability and construct validity of the OVCS grading scale. A secondary objective was to perform the same assessments on the Cottle Maneuver.