Efficacy of Full and Limited Endoscopic Sinus Surgery in Chronic Rhinosinusitis With Nasal Polyps: A Randomised Controlled Trial.

What was studied

This trial looked at people with nasal polyps and long-lasting sinus swelling. Their symptoms stayed bad despite care inside the nose. All had earlier sinus surgery or whole-body drugs for this problem. People were put by chance into one of the surgery groups. One group had full sinus surgery done through the nose with a camera. The other group had a more limited form of the same surgery. The main test was a symptom and life quality survey called SNOT-22. It was done at the start, at 12 months and at 24 months.

What they found

The trial took in 97 people between 2018 and 2022. The main analysis had 47 people in each group. After 12 months, the full surgery group scored 22.3 on average. The limited surgery group scored 31.5. After 24 months, the average scores were 25.3 and 27.8. Yet the change in scores did not differ enough between the groups. The gap was too small to count as meaningful for patients. Some other results, such as sense of smell and polyp size, did differ between groups.

What it means for patients

Both kinds of surgery improved life quality within 24 months. In both groups, scores dropped by more than a meaningful amount. But neither surgery clearly beat the other on the main survey. The authors think full surgery may give better control of inflammation in the nose. They base this view on the other results, like smell and polyp size.

Why it is not certain yet

Not all 97 people who joined were in the main analysis. Follow-up lasted 24 months, so longer effects are not known. The abstract does not give exact results for smell and polyp size. The idea of better inflammation control is the authors' view, not a proven fact. The abstract does not report on side effects.

Source

Efficacy of Full and Limited Endoscopic Sinus Surgery in Chronic Rhinosinusitis With Nasal Polyps: A Randomised Controlled Trial.

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