The Role of Surgery in Management of Samter's Triad: A Systematic Review

Aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease (AERD) represents a severe form of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) characterized by nasal polyposis, bronchial asthma, and aspirin intolerance. This syndrome, known as Samter's triad, is more difficult to manage than routine CRS and poses a challenge to the treating clinician. We performed a systematic review of the literature to determine the role of endoscopic sinus surgery in patients with AERD who are on adjuvant medical therapies.

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A systematic review of the literature was performed using the 2009 PRISMA guidelines. Studies with both preoperative and postoperative data for patients with AERD who underwent sinus surgery were considered appropriate for inclusion. Publications were written in English, included patients aged 18 years or older, and had a minimum follow-up of 3 months.

Eighteen studies met criteria for inclusion in our review. The primary outcome was change in symptom profile as measured by sinonasal and asthma symptom scores. Most studies demonstrated improvement in sinus- and asthma-related symptoms and quality-of-life measures after endoscopic sinus surgery.

This review, which did not exclude the use of concomitant medical therapy, suggests that surgery is beneficial in AERD management. Evidence demonstrates improvement in sinonasal and asthma symptom severity and frequency, radiographic and endoscopy scores, and quality of life after surgery.