Five-year EuroQol 5-Dimension Outcomes After Endoscopic Sinus Surgery.

Area of Science:

• Otolaryngology
• Health Outcomes Research
• Quality of Life Studies

Background:

• Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) significantly impacts patients' health-related quality of life.
• The EuroQol 5-Dimension (EQ-5D) is a validated instrument for measuring health utility values (HUV).

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the five-year health-related quality of life outcomes in patients with CRS following endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS).
• To identify factors associated with long-term EQ-5D outcomes after ESS for CRS.

Main Methods:

• Prospective observational cohort study involving 1296 patients with CRS.
• EQ-5D questionnaires administered preoperatively and annually for five years post-ESS.
• Paired t-tests, McNemar's tests, and mixed-effects modeling were used for statistical analysis.

Main Results:

• Significant and sustained reductions in pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression were observed up to five years post-ESS.
• Improvements in the usual activity domain were noted at one year and sustained through year four.
• Factors such as female gender, prior sinus surgery, tobacco use, comorbidities (diabetes, hypertension), and higher preoperative SNOT-22 scores were associated with worse long-term EQ-5D outcomes.

Conclusions:

• Endoscopic sinus surgery leads to significant and sustained improvements in health-related quality of life for CRS patients up to five years.
• The EQ-5D instrument effectively captures these long-term quality of life changes.