Impact of Allergy on the Prognosis of Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery

Abstract

Purpose Functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) is currently the standard surgical treatment for chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) refractory to medical therapy. Many studies have reported that patients treated with FESS had excellent objective and subjective outcomes. However, only a few reports have discussed the influence of allergy on the outcome of FESS. The purpose of this study was to understand the impact of allergy on the short-term outcome of FESS. Methods A total of 116 patients with CRS who underwent FESS from June 2000 to February 2003 were enrolled in this study. Patients underwent an intradermal skin test, coronal sinus computed tomography (CT) scan and a questionnaire assessment before FESS was performed. The questionnaire was a 10-item scale developed by the authors to assess rhinosinusitis symptoms. Five items were allergy-related (nasal obstruction, rhinorrhea, sneezing, nasal itching and wheezing) and the remaining five were nonallergy-related (post nasal drip, olfactory disorder, headache or facial pain, ear blockage and cough). All patients in this study received similar medication after operation. Rhinosinusitis symptoms were reevaluated by questionnaires 6 months postoperatively. The questionnaire scores before and after FESS were compared between allergic and non-allergic patients and analyzed by the Mann-Whitney Utest. Results. There were no significant differences in preoperative rhinosinusitis scores between allergic and non-allergic patients. There were no significant differences in the total and nonallergy-related rhinosinusitis scores between the two groups postoperatively. However, the postoperative allergy-related rhinosinusitis scores were significantly higher in allergic patients. conclusions. The short-term outcome of FESS was similar in allergic and non-allergic CRS patients when allergic patients received adequate pharmacotherapy to control allergy symptoms.