Does Delaying Endoscopic Sinus Surgery Adversely Impact Quality-of-Life Outcomes?

Abstract

Objectives: There is little consensus regarding the prognostic value of symptom duration in predicting clinical disease severity or quality-of-life (QOL) outcomes in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). Our objectives were to: 1) determine if patients with longer symptom duration have worse preoperative disease severity and/or QOL, and 2) determine if delayed surgical intervention influences outcomes of endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS).

Methods: Patients diagnosed with CRS were prospectively enrolled into a multicenter cohort study and observed 14.7 (standard deviaton {SD} ± 4.8) months on average following primary ESS. Preoperative symptom duration was stratified into short-term (< 12 months), middle-term (12-60 months), and long-term (> 60 months). Disease severity was assessed using endoscopy and computed tomography. Disease-specific QOL was measured with the 22-item Sinonasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22) and Rhinosinusitis Disability Index. Adjusted bivariate and multivariate associations between symptom duration, disease severity, and QOL scores were evaluated.

Results: One hundred and thirteen patients met inclusion criteria with 35 patients lost to postoperative follow-up. No significant differences in preoperative disease severity or QOL scores were reported between symptom duration subgroups. Participants in the long-term symptom subgroup reported significantly greater mean postoperative improvement on SNOT-22 total scores (n = 28; -36.3[± 22.2]) compared to both short-term (n = 27; -23.4[SD ± 11.3]; P = 0.039) and middle-term (n = 23; -23.5[SD ± 20.1]; P = 0.050) subgroups. Postoperative QOL improvements in the long-term symptom subgroup remained significantly greater (P ≤ 0.036) after multivariate adjustment.

Conclusions: Symptom duration was not associated with mean preoperative disease severity or QOL. Patients with long-term symptom duration reported the greatest mean postoperative QOL improvement, suggesting that delayed surgical intervention may not reduce QOL improvements following ESS.

Level of evidence: 2c Laryngoscope, 129:303-311, 2019.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02720653.

Keywords: Quality of life; chronic disease; patient-reported outcome measures; sinusitis; symptom assessment.