Quality of life in patients with fungal infection of nose and paranasal sinuses: A study from North India

Abstract

Background: Fungal infections of nose and paranasal sinuses have a protracted course with frequent relapses and recurrences. Quality of life (QOL) of such patients is severely affected. Materials and Methods: The aim of this study was to assess QOL of patients with fungal infection of nose and paranasal sinuses. The objective was to assess disease specific QOL, health-related QOL, and global QOL. Cross sectional assessment was carried out on thirty patients with the diagnosis of fungal infection of nose and paranasal sinuses. Results: The total Sino Nasal Outcome Test score was indicative of “moderate degree of problem.” Regarding generic QOL, as assessed using WHOQOL-Bref, the sample had overall moderate QOL in all domains. On the contrary, on the Short Form-36, highest scores were obtained on the individual domains of “physical functioning” and “pain” with lowest scores on the domains of “general health” and “role limitation due to physical health.” Conclusion: It can be concluded that Indian patients with fungal infection of paranasal sinuses report moderate degree of QOL on both disease specific (SNOT-20) and global (WHOQOL-Bref) scales with mild to moderate limitation on health-related QOL scale (SF-36).