[New approach to treatment of polypous rhinosinusitis]

Polypous rhinosinusitis (PRS) is a hardly treatable disease due to the unknown etiology and recurrent course. Standard treatment regimens are aimed at removing polyps and reducing the activity of inflammation, while little attention is paid to pathogenesis factors such as oxidative stress and mucociliary insufficiency.

To improve the combined treatment of PRS.

The study involved 98 patients (50 people - the study group, 48 people - control group). The structure of the comorbid pathology of patients in the control group was selected so as to correspond to the pathology in the study group. Patients of both groups received combined treatment, including surgical treatment in accordance with the FESS principles, followed by the prescription of 200 mcg mometasone furoate in each half of the nose for 6 months. The treatment of patients of the study group also included the drug N-acetylcysteine - 3 ml (300 mg) in each maxillary sinus intrasurgicaly, then 600 mg orally in the morning after meals for 6 months. Survey methods included a questionnaire survey using the SNOT-22 questionnaire, the prevalence of the polypous process was assessed by endoscopy (Claus Bachert scale) and CT (Lund-Mackay scale), and mucociliary function was also evaluated by performing a saccharin test. The results were compared with each other before surgery and after 6, 12 and 24 months after surgery.

Patients who have been taking N-acetylcysteine for a long time have a more pronounced and long-term improvement in their general condition (according to SNOT-22, an average by 1.7 times, p<0.05) compared with patients in the control group. Also, the frequency of relapses decreases and the effectiveness of surgical treatment increases (according to the Lund-Mackey scale - 5.02 in the experimental group and 10.75 in the control; according to S. Bachert - 1 point and 3 points, respectively).

Long-term use of N-acetylcysteine in PRS increases the effectiveness of surgical treatment, reduces the frequency of relapses, and also improves the general condition of patients.