Researchers conducted this study to prospectively compare the quality of life of adult patients who underwent either an endonasal or an external DCR for acquired nasolacrimal duct obstruction, the Lac-Q was administered before and after surgery.
Sixty patients were recruited. The postoperative assessment was performed at 3 and 6 months. Patients who underwent external DCR reported a median 7.0–point improvement in total Lac-Q scores. A 12.0–point improvement was seen in the endonasal group. The social impact score’s median change was 3.0 and 4.0 in the external and endoscopic groups. The anatomic patency rate was lower in the shallow group when compared with the endonasal group. Patients in the external DCR group were significantly older.
The study concluded that both endonasal and external DCR could improve life quality by using a validated questionnaire. Although there are differences in age and anatomic success rates between the two groups, subgroup analyses indicated that the Lac-Q scores’ differences persisted when age and anatomic patency were removed as potential confounding factors. Furthermore, numerous randomized studies would be helpful.
Reference: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.2500/ajra.2018.32.4494
