The concept of unified airway disease has been linked with CRS, much like asthma and CRS. Although ESS outcomes on comorbid asthma have been relatively well studied, the results of ESS on comorbid bronchiectasis have rarely been examined.
We sought to determine sinonasal and pulmonary clinical outcomes of ESS in bronchiectasis patients with CRS.
We reviewed all bronchiectasis patients who had ESS for CRS at our institution from 2006 to the present. The SNOT-22 was administered preoperatively and at three months, one year, and three years postoperatively. PFTs were measured preoperatively and at six months and one-year post-operation to assess the FEV1, caused FVC, and FEV1/FVC values. Paired t-test and Pearson correlation were used to compare pre-and post-surgical results.
A total of 141 bronchiectasis patients who had ESS for CRS were studied. The most common cause of bronchiectasis was cystic fibrosis. SNOT-22 scores improved at three months post-operation and were maintained at one year and three years post-procedure. All SNOT sub-domains showed a significant improvement after surgery. However, PFTs did not change at six months post-operation and one-year post-operation. There were substantial differences in CF versus non-CF patients but not by sex or age.
The study concluded that ESS is effective in improving long-term sinonasal outcomes in bronchiectasis patients with CRS. However, ESS does not appear to improve pulmonary function.
Reference: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1945892418793539
