Effects of functional endoscopic sinus surgery on chronic rhinosinusitis resistant to medication

To evaluate the therapeutic effects of functional endoscopic sinus surgery in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis who were unresponsive to medical treatment.

A total of 232 patients were divided into 2 groups: a functional endoscopic sinus surgery group (n = 162) and a conservative therapy group (n = 70). Efficacy was assessed in terms of Lund-Kennedy endoscopy scores and Sino-Nasal Outcome Test 20 symptom scores.

In the functional endoscopic sinus surgery group, Lund-Kennedy and Sino-Nasal Outcome Test 20 scores were significantly lower at 3, 6 and 12 months post-surgery compared with baseline scores. In the conservative therapy group, both sets of scores were significantly lower at 3 months, but not at 12 months. In this latter group, the Lund-Kennedy scores decreased only slightly and the Sino-Nasal Outcome Test 20 scores significantly decreased at six months compared with initial scores, indicating disparity between the subjective and objective measures. Patient-reported symptom improvement was better in the functional endoscopic sinus surgery group than in the medication group at 12 months (p < 0.001).

These findings suggest that functional endoscopic sinus surgery has better efficacy over a longer period compared with conservative therapy.