MAIN ARTICLE

Year : 2015 I Volume : 09 I Issue: II I Page: 9-13

EVALUATION
OF
LONG-TERM
QUALITY
OF
LIFE
OUTCOMES
IN PATIENTS WITH RECURRENT ACUTE
RHINOSINUSITIS AND CHRONIC RHINOSINUSITIS WITHOUT
NASAL POLYPOSIS
*D Carlson DO,**B Fennessy MD,***PJ Catalano MD, FACS
*,**,***. Division of Rhinology/Skull Base Surgery, St. Elizabeths Medical Center, Boston, MA,USA

Address of Correspondence:
Peter Catalano, MD,
St. Elizabeths Medical Center, Department of Otolaryngology, 736 Cambridge Street, Brighton, MA 02135, U.S.A.
Email: Peter.Catalano@steward.org

DOI- 10.21176/ ojolhns.0974-5262.2015.09.2

ABSTRACT
Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate and compare the changes in Quality of Life (QoL ) before and one year after
surgical intervention between patients with Recurrent Acute Rhinosinusitis(RARS) and Chronic Rhinosinusitis without Nasal
Polyposis (CRSsNP).
Introduction
Improvements in quality of life (QoL) after surgical management of chronic sinusitis without nasal polyps (CRSsNP) is well
defined and universally accepted as a rationale for surgical intervention, whereas the similar management of recurrent acute
rhinosinusitis (RARS) remains controversial. The aim of this study is to evaluate and compare the changes in QoL before and one
year after surgical intervention between patients with RARS and CRSsNP.
Methods
A prospective cohort of 32 patients with RARS and 25 patients with CRSsNP (as defined by the Rhinosinusitis Task force) were
enrolled in the study upon failing medical management. CT scan findings were reported using the Lund Mackay (LMS) scoring
system. A SNOT-20 QoL assessment was completed both preoperatively and one year postoperatively. Patient data was
collected, scored and transferred for analysis using Prism6 Graph Pad software.
Results
Fifty-seven patients enrolled in this prospective study exhibited a mean age of 39 years. The mean pre-operative LM scores were
similar between subgroups: RARS=7.5; CRSsNP=6.3 (p>.05). Pre-operative SNOT-20 scores were slightly higher for the
Figure 1
CRSsNP vs RARS group: 44.3 vs 32.3, respectively (p=.0092).
However, the magnitude of QoL improvement between
pre-operative and post-operative SNOT-20 scores were identical (delta=-21) and statistically significant in both RARS and
CRSsNP groups.
Conclusions
These results show statistically significant, similar and durable improvements in QoL outcomes following endoscopic sinus
surgery in patients with RARS and CRSsNP, providing further evidence that targeted surgical intervention is appropriate for
medically refractory patients with either RARS or CRSsNP.
Key Words: recurrent acute rhinosinusitis, rhinosinusitis, minimally invasive sinus surgery, quality of life, sinusitis,
endoscopic sinus surgery.