Introduction: Postoperative care for endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) often includes nasal saline and/or steroid irrigations to effectively control symptoms. Though topical corticosteroid use has been well characterized for managing inflammatory sinus diseases, their role in managing symptoms after ESS for sinonasal tumors is unclear. We seek to quantify the impact of postoperative steroid irrigations on the quality of life in patients with sinonasal tumors who have undergone ESS.
Methods: All patients who underwent surgical resection of a sinonasal tumor at this institution from 2000 to 2019 were included in the study. The electronic medical record was reviewed for patient factors, postoperative steroid irrigation use, and 22-item Sino-nasal Outcome Test (SNOT 22) scores and unpaired t-tests were performed.
Results: 101 patients were assessed (64% males) and divided into (1) no steroid irrigation (NSI) and (2) steroid irrigation (SI) cohorts. The groups were similar in number (NSI n = 44, SI n = 57) and baseline preop SNOT 22 scores did not differ significantly (NSI: 28.8 ± 23.7, SI: 23.5 ± 20.2; p = 0.2784). 3-, 6-, 12-, 18-, and 24-month post-op SNOT 22 scores did not significantly differ between groups (Table 1), though the steroid group showed a greater improvement in SNOT 22 scores compared with the NSI cohort.
Conclusions: Though corticosteroid irrigations are a routine part for managing inflammatory sinus disease, their role in postoperative management after ESS for sinonasal tumors is unclear. Further studies should be performed to investigate the costs and benefits of steroid irrigations in this patient population.
Table 1
Postoperative SNOT 22 scores (mean ± SD) in patients with or without steroid irrigations
|
Snot 22 scores
|
No steroid irrigation
|
Steroid irrigation
|
p
|
|
Pre-op
|
28.8 ± 23.7
|
23.5 ± 20.2
|
0.2784
|
|
3 months post-op
|
16.7 ± 16.6
|
12.1 ± 12.1
|
0.2403
|
|
6 months post-op
|
18.7 ± 18.4
|
12.6 ± 13.3
|
0.1511
|
|
12 months post-op
|
16.9 ± 20.8
|
11.3 ± 13.8
|
0.2809
|
|
18 months post-op
|
18.4 ± 18.3
|
14.2 ± 16.0
|
0.4505
|
|
24 months post-op
|
16.7 ± 18.0
|
10.2 ± 11.0
|
0.1421
|
