Efficacy of nasal corticosteroid in preventing regrowth after adenoidectomy

One of the most frequent reasons of nasal obstruction and sleep apnea in pediatrics is adenoid hypertrophy. Remaining adenoid tissue can reoccur following hypertrophied adenoid removal and a second operation may be needed. Nasal corticosteroids are utilized in order to reduce adenoid hypertrophy and eliminate adenoidectomy operation. The purpose of our study is to assess the effect of nasal corticosteroid administration after adenoidectomy on adenoid regrowth and symptom scores.

Seventy patients who had adenoidectomy were enrolled in our study. Patients were divided into two groups. Group I (35 patients) received Mometasone furoate (40mcg/day per nostril) intranasal spray for 6 months, starting at postoperative week 3 after wound healing. As for Group II (35 patients), they received intranasal saline spray. Patients were followed up for one year. Every patient had flexible nasal endoscopy at postoperative week 3 and one year after the operation. Choana was scored according to its occlusion level by the adenoid tissue. Additionally, nasal obstruction symptoms (nasal congestion, dry mouth, snoring, nasal speaking, apnea and night coughing) were scored.

Remaining adenoid tissue in the nasopharynx was comparable in flexible endoscopic assessment and no significant difference was seen between postoperative week 3 nasal obstruction scores. In the flexible endoscopic assessment completed in the twelfth month of the study, significant reduction was found in Group 1 compared to Group 2 in terms of adenoid size. When patients in both groups were compared, statistically significant reduction was observed in nasal obstruction symptom scores at the twelfth month.

This study has demonstrated that the use of steroid nasal spray following adenoidectomy significantly prevents regrowth and reduces nasal obstruction symptoms in the early period.