RhinAer Procedure for Treatment of Chronic Rhinitis Study (RHINTRAC)

The RhinAer Procedure for Treatment of CHronic RhInitis - A Prospective, MulticeNter Randomized ConTrolled TRial Comparing RhinAer to Sham Control (RHINTRAC)

The purpose of this study is to compare the RhinAer procedure with radiofrequency (RF) energy to sham procedure for treatment of chronic rhinitis.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Chronic Rhinitis
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: RhinAer Stylus; Device: Sham

Detailed Description

The purpose of this study is to compare the RhinAer procedure to treat tissue in the posterior nasal nerve area to improve symptoms in adults diagnosed with chronic rhinitis with a sham procedure that duplicates the actual procedure as closely as possible absent the delivery of radiofrequency (RF) energy to the nasal tissue.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 116
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • California
    • Roseville, California, United States, 95661
      • Sacramento ENT (DaVinci Research)
    • Torrance, California, United States, 90503
      • Breathe Clear Institute
  • Florida
    • Plantation, Florida, United States, 33324
      • ENT and Allergy Associates of Florida
    • Tampa, Florida, United States, 33612
      • University of South Florida
  • Georgia
    • Atlanta, Georgia, United States, 30309
      • Piedmont ENT
  • Illinois
    • Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60612
      • Rush University
  • New York
    • New York, New York, United States, 10016
      • Madison ENT
  • Ohio
    • Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, 45267
      • University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
  • Tennessee
    • Nashville, Tennessee, United States, 37232
      • Vanderbilt Asthma, Sinus & Allergy Program
  • Texas
    • Fort Worth, Texas, United States, 76104
      • Texas Healthcare
    • Fredericksburg, Texas, United States, 78624
      • Fredericksburg ENT
    • McKinney, Texas, United States, 75070
      • ENT Associates of Texas (ENTtex)
  • Utah
    • Ogden, Utah, United States, 84403
      • Ogden Clinic

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 14 years to 81 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Age 18 to 85 years (inclusively).
2. Willing and able to provide informed consent.
3. Willing and able to comply with the subject-specific requirements outlined in the Study Protocol.
4. Seeking treatment for chronic rhinitis symptoms of at least 6 months duration and willing to undergo an office-based procedure.
5. Moderate to severe symptoms of rhinorrhea (rTNSS rating of 2 or 3 for rhinorrhea).
6. Mild to severe symptoms of nasal congestion (rTNSS rating of 1, 2 or 3 for congestion).
7. rTNSS ≥ 6.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Anatomic obstructions that in the investigator's opinion limit access to the posterior nasal passage.
2. Altered anatomy of the posterior nose as a result of prior sinus or nasal surgery or injury.
3. Active nasal or sinus infection.
4. History of significant dry eye.
5. History of any of the following: chronic epistaxis, documented episodes of significant nose bleeds in the past 3 months, rhinitis medicamentosa, head or neck irradiation.
6. Have rhinitis symptoms only on a seasonal basis due to allergies.
7. Known or suspected allergies or contraindications to the anesthetic agents and/or antibiotic medications to be used during the study procedure session.
8. Known or suspected to be pregnant or is lactating.
9. Participating in another clinical research study.
10. Has any condition that predisposes to excessive bleeding.
11. Is taking anticoagulants (eg, warfarin, Plavix) or 325 mg aspirin that cannot be discontinued before the procedure.
12. Has previous procedure or surgery for chronic rhinitis.
13. Other medical conditions which in the opinion of the investigator would predispose the subject to poor wound healing, increased surgical risk, or poor compliance with the requirements of the study.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: RhinAer Treatment; The RhinAer procedure will be performed in the study clinic using the RhinAer Stylus and Aerin Console. The RhinAer Stylus is a disposable handheld device capable of delivering bipolar radiofrequency energy to tissue when connected to the Aerin Console radiofrequency generating device. Participants will have the portion of the nasal cavity mucosa overlying the region of the posterior nasal nerve (the posterior middle meatus and posterior inferior turbinate) in both nostrils treated during a single study procedure session. Each nostril will be treated at 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 nonoverlapping positions depending on the size of the target treatment area. Treatment settings to be used are temperature 60 °C, power 4 watts, treatment time 12 seconds, and cooling time 0 seconds	Device: RhinAer Stylus; The RhinAer procedure will be performed in the study clinic using the RhinAer Stylus and Aerin Console. The RhinAer Stylus is a disposable handheld device capable of delivering bipolar radiofrequency energy to tissue when connected to the Aerin Console radiofrequency generating device. Participants will have the portion of the nasal cavity mucosa overlying the region of the posterior nasal nerve (the posterior middle meatus and posterior inferior turbinate) in both nostrils treated during a single study procedure session.
Sham Comparator: Control Treatment; The control treatment will be performed in the study clinic using the RhinAer Stylus while audible sounds that accurately simulate the Aerin Console's active treatment are produced even though RF energy is not being generated or delivered. All other aspects of the procedure will be the same as used for the active treatment, including administration of anesthetic agent(s).	Device: Sham; The control treatment will be performed in the study clinic using the RhinAer Stylus while audible sounds that accurately simulate the Aerin Console's active treatment are produced even though RF energy is not being generated or delivered. All other aspects of the procedure will be the same as used for the active treatment, including administration of anesthetic agent(s).

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Reflective Total Nasal Symptom Score (rTNSS) Responder Rate	TNSS is an instrument used to collect patient self-rated severity of nasal symptoms. 4 Symptoms (rhinorrhea, nasal congestion, nasal itching and sneezing) are reported with score of 0/absent; 1/mild; 2/moderate; 3/severe. The total score is the sum of the 4 nasal symptom scores with a maximum TNSS of 12 indicating the most severe symptoms. Treatment Responder based on rTNSS improvement Individual participant success (responder) is defined as at least 30% improvement (decrease) in the rTNSS from baseline. For this protocol patients had to meet inclusion criteria of rTNSS rating of 2 or 3 for Rhinorrhea; rTNSS rating of 1, 2 or 3 for Congestion; and total rTNSS score >/= 6 at baseline	3 months visit following the study procedure.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Reflective Total Nasal Symptom Score (rTNSS) Mean Change	The Reflective Total Nasal Symptom Score (rTNSS) is a patient self reported questionnaire of four nasal symptoms: rhinitis, nasal congestion, nasal itching and sneezing. Patients will report their symptoms reflected or felt over the last 12 hours. Total scores can range from 0 to 12. A higher score indicates increased symptom severity. This study will measure the mean change in rTNSS from baseline to 3 months after the procedure.	Change from Baseline to 3 months following the study procedure.
Percentage of Participants With Treatment Related Events (Safety)	Characterizing the type and frequency of adverse events reported. Subjects will be asked about possible side effects or adverse experiences related to the study procedure at each follow up visit. All events will be documented and identified as to its relationship and level of relatedness to the study device and/or study procedure. Date of onset, severity, duration and outcome will be documented.	At or following the study procedure up to to 3 months.
Reflective Total Nasal Symptom Score (rTNSS) Mean Change	The Reflective Total Nasal Symptom Score (rTNSS) is a patient self reported questionnaire of four nasal symptoms: rhinitis, nasal congestion, nasal itching and sneezing. Patients will report their symptoms reflected or felt over the last 12 hours. Total scores can range from 0 to 12. A higher score indicates increased symptom severity.	Change from Baseline to 12 months following the study procedure.

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Nasal Status Assessment	The Nasal Status Assessment is an evaluation, performed by a physician, of 10 specified physical or intranasal findings. Each finding is ranked in severity from Not Present to Severe. Each component of the assessment will be summarized.	Baseline, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months following the study procedure

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Aerin Medical
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Pablo Stolovitzky, MD, ENT of Georgia North; Principal Investigator: Mas Takashima, MD, The Sinus Center at Houston Methodist Hospital

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Stolovitzky JP, Ow RA, Silvers SL, Bikhazi NB, Johnson CD, Takashima M. Effect of Radiofrequency Neurolysis on the Symptoms of Chronic Rhinitis: A Randomized Controlled Trial. OTO Open. 2021 Sep 10;5(3):2473974X211041124. doi: 10.1177/2473974X211041124. eCollection 2021 Jul-Sep.
• Takashima M, Stolovitzky JP, Ow RA, Silvers SL, Bikhazi NB, Johnson CD. Temperature-controlled radiofrequency neurolysis for treatment of chronic rhinitis: 12-month outcomes after treatment in a randomized controlled trial. Int Forum Allergy Rhinol. 2023 Feb;13(2):107-115. doi: 10.1002/alr.23047. Epub 2022 Jul 5.
• Takashima M, Stolovitzky JP, Ow RA, Silvers SL, McDuffie CM, Dean M, Sedaghat AR, Tajudeen BA. Temperature-controlled radiofrequency ablation for the treatment of chronic rhinitis: Two-year outcomes from a prospective multicenter trial. Int Forum Allergy Rhinol. 2024 Jul;14(7):1182-1194. doi: 10.1002/alr.23315. Epub 2024 Jan 24.
• Stolovitzky JP, Ow RA, Silvers SL, Tajudeen BA, McDuffie CM, Dean M, Sedaghat AR, Phillips K, Takashima M. 3-Year Outcomes of Temperature-Controlled Radiofrequency Ablation of the Posterior Nasal Nerve in Patients With Chronic Rhinitis. Int Forum Allergy Rhinol. 2025 Apr 4:e23577. doi: 10.1002/alr.23577. Online ahead of print.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): July 31, 2020
• Primary Completion (Actual): April 9, 2021
• Study Completion (Actual): December 30, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 21, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 28, 2020
• First Posted (Actual): August 31, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 2, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 28, 2025
• Last Verified: April 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Respiratory Tract Infections; Infections; Respiratory Tract Diseases; Nose Diseases; Otorhinolaryngologic Diseases; Rhinitis
• Other Study ID Numbers: CTP1004

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: Yes
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: Yes