Objective: Rhinosinusitis is one of the most common reasons for a visit to otolaryngology clinics. Some patients are candidates for sinus surgery. Infiltration of 1:100 000 adrenaline in the pterygopalatine fossa was studied, with the aim of evaluating the effect on bleeding in the surgical field.
Methods: This double-blind clinical trial was conducted in 2021-2022 on 40 candidates for endoscopic sinus surgery. For each patient, one side of the pterygopalatine fossa was randomly selected to be infiltrated with a vasoconstrictor. Surgical field bleeding on each side was evaluated.
Results: Blood loss was 35.8 ± 20.9 ml in the study group and 38.4 ± 23.7 ml for the control group, with no statistically significant difference between groups (p = 0.49). In addition, there was no difference between the two groups in terms of the surgical field based on Boezaart scores.
Conclusion: Although there are some recommendations on the usage of vasoconstrictors via the pterygopalatine foramen, debate remains.
Keywords: Paranasal sinuses; bleeding; endoscope; pterygopalatine fossa.