Nasal polyposis is a common disease, with steroids systemic or topical, critical in its medical treatment. Other anti-inflammatory agents should be evaluated with known side effects of systemic steroids, preferably the natural ones.
Researchers did this study to evaluate the role of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in the treatment of nasal polyposis.
The present study is a single-blinded randomized controlled trial, including 164 patients with grade II nasal polyposis. The participants were receiving a short course of systemic steroids until polyposis subsidence. Researchers equally distributed patients were distributed into two groups according to maintenance therapy.
The analysis found a nonsignificant effect for omega-3 on the incidence of recurrence of nasal polyposis and the grade of recurrent polyposis. However, omega-3 intake had a highly significant impact on delaying the incidence of recurrence of polyposis.
The study concluded that omega-3 fatty acid has a beneficial effect on delaying nasal polyposis recurrence through its proven anti-inflammatory mechanism of action. Omega-3 fatty acid minimizes the need for systemic steroid administration with its known side effects. Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation should be considered while tailoring the maintenance regimen for chronic rhinosinusitis medical treatment with nasal polyposis.
Reference: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1945892419871802
