Effect of three-drug delivery modalities on olfactory function in chronic sinusitis

Area of Science:

• Otolaryngology
• Pharmacology
• Medical Science

Background:

• Olfactory dysfunction significantly impacts quality of life in Chronic Rhinosinusitis (CRS).
• Corticosteroids are a common treatment for CRS, but administration routes may affect efficacy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the effectiveness of oral, nasal spray, and sonic nebulized corticosteroid administration in patients with CRS.
• To assess the impact of different corticosteroid delivery methods on olfactory function.

Main Methods:

• A prospective randomized controlled study involving 30 CRS patients.
• Patients received corticosteroids via oral route, nasal spray, or sonic nebulization for 16 days.
• Olfactory function was evaluated using orthonasal and retronasal psychophysical tests before and after treatment.

Main Results:

• Both oral and sonic nebulized corticosteroid administration showed significant improvement in orthonasal olfactory function.
• Sonic nebulization and oral administration yielded clinically relevant improvements, comparable to each other.
• Nasal spray administration resulted in a significantly lower improvement in olfactory function compared to oral and nebulized routes.

Conclusions:

• Sonic nebulized and oral corticosteroid administration are effective in improving orthonasal olfactory function in CRS patients.
• The clinical benefit for olfactory dysfunction is greater with sonic nebulized or oral administration than with nasal spray.