[Correlation between patient-based questionnaires and computer tomography staging in chronic rhinosinusitis].

Area of Science:

• Otolaryngology
• Medical Imaging
• Quality of Life Research

Background:

• Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) significantly impacts patient quality of life.
• Objective staging of CRS severity using computed tomography (CT) is crucial for treatment planning.
• The correlation between subjective patient-reported outcomes and objective CT findings in CRS requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the association between patient-based questionnaires and CT staging in individuals with CRS.
• To determine if CT staging correlates with symptom severity and quality of life measures in CRS patients.

Main Methods:

• Quantitative data from 121 preoperative CRS patients were analyzed.
• Patient-reported outcomes were assessed using the visual analogue scale (VAS), sino-nasal outcome test-20 (SNOT-20), and SF-36.
• Computed tomography (CT) staging was performed using the Lund-Mackay system.
• Correlations were examined in the overall cohort and stratified by subgroups (e.g., with/without nasal polyps).

Main Results:

• Patient questionnaires (SNOT-20, SF-36, VAS) demonstrated strong inter-correlations.
• Computed tomography (CT) staging showed no significant correlation with patient-based questionnaires in the total cohort.
• Weak but significant correlations were observed between CT staging and patient-based questionnaires specifically in the CRS with nasal polyps subgroup.

Conclusions:

• Patient-reported outcome measures are internally consistent in CRS.
• Computed tomography (CT) staging has a limited correlation with subjective symptom reporting in CRS.
• The presence of nasal polyps does not appear to be the primary driver of diminished quality of life in CRS.