Jess C. Mace

Determinants of outcomes of sinus surgery: A multi-institutional prospective cohort study

OBJECTIVES: 1) To measure the proportion of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) who experience clinically significant improvement after endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) in a prospective, multi-institutional fashion. 2) To identify preoperative characteristics that predict clinically significant improvement in quality of life (QOL) after ESS. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective, multi-institutional cohort study. SETTING: Academic tertiary care centers. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A total of 302 patients with CRS from three centers were enrolled between July 2004 and December 2008 and followed for an average of 17.4 months postoperatively. Preoperative patient characteristics, CT scan, endoscopy score, and pre- and postoperative quality of life (QOL) data were collected. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed. RESULTS: Patients improved an average of 15.8 percent (18.9 points) on the Rhinosinusitis Disability Index and 21.2 percent (21.2 points) on the Chronic Sinusitis Survey (both P < 0.001). Patients significantly improved on all eight Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 (SF-36) subscales (all P < 0.001). Among patients with poor baseline QOL, 71.7 percent of patients experienced clinically significant improvement on the RSDI and 76.1 percent on the CSS. Patients undergoing primary surgery were 2.1 times more likely to improve on the RSDI (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.2, 3.4; P = 0.006) and 1.8 times more likely to improve on the CSS (95% CI, 1.1, 3.1; P = 0.020) compared with patients undergoing revision surgery. CONCLUSION: In this prospective, multi-institutional study, most patients experienced clinically significant improvement across multiple QOL outcomes after ESS. Specific patient characteristics provided prognostic value with regard to outcomes.

Health state utility values in patients undergoing endoscopic sinus surgery.

The primary study goal was to measure health state utility values in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) before and after undergoing endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS). A secondary goal was to assess the meaning of these values by comparing them with other chronic disease processes and currently available medical or surgical treatments.

Relationship between clinical measures and histopathologic findings in chronic rhinosinusitis.

OBJECTIVE: Describe detailed histopathologic findings from a cohort of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis and evaluate whether histologic measures correlate with baseline clinical factors. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study with planned data collection. SETTING: Tertiary medical center. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Adult patients with chronic rhinosinusitis were prospectively enrolled and demographic data and medical comorbidities recorded. Disease severity was measured by computed tomography (CT), endoscopy, Smell Identification Test (SIT), the Chronic Sinusitis Survey, Rhinosinusitis Disability Index, and SF-36 General Health Survey. Mucosal specimens were assessed for the presence of mucosal inflammation, including cellular (eosinophils, neutrophils, lymphocytes, mast cells, plasma cells, macrophages), epithelial (squamous metaplasia, basement membrane thickening, goblet cells), and stromal markers (subepithelial edema, fibrosis). Histopathologic findings were correlated to baseline clinical factors. RESULTS: A total of 147 subjects were enrolled with histologic samples available for review. Presence of inflammatory markers was diverse, with lymphocytes present in 100 percent of subjects, eosinophils in 49.7 percent, and neutrophils found in 0.7 percent. Total eosinophil counts correlated with the presence of nasal polyposis (r = −0.367; P < 0.001), asthma (r = 0.264; P = 0.001), and aspirin intolerance (r = 0.279; P = 0.001). Mucosal eosinophilia correlated with worse disease severity on CT (r = 0.414; P < 0.001), endoscopy (r = 0.376; P < 0.001), and SIT (r = −0.253; P = 0.002), with the highest correlations seen in subgroups without nasal polyps. Histopathologic findings did not significantly correlate with any quality-of-life measure. CONCLUSION: Mucosal eosinophilia correlates with objective disease severity as defined by CT, endoscopy, and SIT scores. Although other histologic markers of inflammation are present, none show similar correlations. The presence of mucosal eosinophils does not correlate with quality-of-life scores.

Impact of mucosal eosinophilia and nasal polyposis on quality-of-life outcomes after sinus surgery.

OBJECTIVE: Assess whether the presence of mucosal eosinophilia correlates with surgical outcomes in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective cohort. SETTING: Tertiary medical center. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Adult patients with chronic rhinosinusitis were prospectively enrolled, and demographic data and medical comorbidities were recorded. Preoperative quality of life (QOL) was measured by the Chronic Sinusitis Survey (CSS), Rhinosinusitis Disability Index (RSDI), and Short Form-36 General Health Survey (SF-36). Sinus mucosal specimens were collected at the time of surgery and the degree of eosinophilia quantified. Postoperative QOL was measured, and differences in QOL improvement were compared between those with and without eosinophilia. RESULTS: A total of 102 patients had both histopathological and QOL outcome data available for review. Follow-up averaged 16.5 months. Patients with eosinophilia showed significantly less improvement in the RSDI total (17.9 vs 25.0; P = 0.044), RSDI functional (5.7 vs 8.8; general health subscale; P = 0.018), CSS medication (3.6 vs 17.3; P = 0.013), SF-36 general health (0.6 vs 9.6; P = 0.008), SF-36 physical role (16.1 vs 34.7; P = 0.036), and SF-36 vitality (11.9 vs 21.2; P = 0.034) scales than those without eosinophilia. The greatest improvement in QOL was seen in patients without eosinophilia or polyps, with the least improvement seen in those with eosinophilia but without polyps. CONCLUSION: The presence of mucosal eosinophilia at the time of surgery consistently predicted less improvement in both disease-specific and general QOL compared with patients without eosinophilia. The impact of eosinophilia on outcomes was greatest for patients without nasal polyposis, a group that demonstrated the least improvement in QOL measures.

Symptom-based presentation of chronic rhinosinusitis and symptom-specific outcomes after endoscopic sinus surgery.

Background Very few studies have comprehensively examined specific symptom outcomes of endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS). The purpose of this study was to define the individual symptoms of a cohort of patients with medically refractory chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) using visual analog scale (VAS) scores as well as report symptom-based outcomes after ESS. Methods Patients with medically refractory CRS presenting for surgical management were asked to evaluate baseline symptoms using 10-cm VAS measures. Participants were asked to rank their most debilitating symptoms in descending order. VAS scores were assessed postoperatively at 3, 6, 12, and 18 months. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to assess improvement in mean symptom VAS scores at each of the postoperative time points. Results Nasal congestion elicited the highest preoperative VAS score with an average of 6.5, followed by fatigue (6.0), headache (5.8), decreased sense of smell (5.5), nasal drainage (5.5), and facial pain-pressure (5.5). Headache was the most commonly reported disabling condition. Follow-up data after ESS was available for 207 patients. Average VAS scores for 6 of 7 symptoms showed significant and sustainable postoperative improvement at 3, 6, 12, and 18 months after surgery (p < 0.001). Improvement in VAS score for headache was not statistically significant (p > 0.700). Conclusion This study indicates that patients with medically refractory CRS presenting for surgery complain of associated symptoms with great frequency. ESS results in both statistically and clinically significant improvements in six of seven symptoms. Headache, which was the most highly ranked disabling symptom, did not show significant improvement from baseline.

Medical therapy vs surgery for chronic rhinosinusitis: a prospective, multi‐institutional study with 1‐year follow‐up

This study evaluated 1‐year outcomes in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) who were considered surgical candidates by study criteria and elected either medical management or endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS). In addition, some patients initially enrolled in the medical treatment arm crossed over to the surgery arm during the study period and their respective outcomes are evaluated.

Productivity Costs in Patients with Refractory Chronic Rhinosinusitis

Disease‐specific reductions in patient productivity can lead to substantial economic losses to society. The purpose of this study was to: 1) define the annual productivity cost for a patient with refractory chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) and 2) evaluate the relationship between degree of productivity cost and CRS‐specific characteristics.

SNOT‐22 quality of life domains differentially predict treatment modality selection in chronic rhinosinusitis

Prior study demonstrated that baseline 22‐item Sino‐Nasal Outcome Test (SNOT‐22) aggregate scores accurately predict selection of surgical intervention in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). Factor analysis of the SNOT‐22 survey has identified five distinct domains that are differentially impacted by endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS). This study sought to quantify SNOT‐22 domains in patient cohorts electing both surgical or medical management and postinterventional change in these domains.

Predictors of Olfactory Dysfunction in Patients With Chronic Rhinosinusitis

Objectives: To measure the prevalence of and identify clinical characteristics associated with poor olfactory function in a large cohort of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS).

Olfactory function and disease severity in chronic rhinosinusitis

Background Olfactory dysfunction is deemed to be a significant contributor to poor quality of life (QOL). However, little is known about the relationship of olfactory testing to other measures of disease burden in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). In this study, we examine the relationship of olfactory function to computed tomography (CT) scores, endoscopy scores, and QOL measures in patients with CRS. Methods A multi-institutional, cross-sectional analysis of 367 patients was performed. Several objective measures were collected: the Smell Identification Test, Lund-MacKay CT score, Lund-Kennedy endoscopy score, two validated disease-specific QOL instruments, the Rhinosinusitis Disability Index and the Chronic Sinusitis Survey, and a general health-related QOL instrument, the Medical Short Form-36. Analysis of variance was performed. Correlation coefficients were calculated. Results Patients with olfactory dysfunction had significantly worse mean endoscopy scores (normosmics, 4.16 [± 3.97]; hyposmics, 6.26 [± 4.21]; anosmics, 9.61 [± 4.48]; p < 0.001) and significantly worse CT scores (normosmics, 9.11 [± 5.40]; hyposmics, 11.16 [± 5.96]; anosmics, 17.62 [± 5.37]; p < 0.001). Endoscopy scores were moderately correlated with olfactory scores (r = -0.46; 95% CI, -0.38, -0.54; p < 0.001). CT scores were moderately correlated with olfactory scores (r = -0.53; 95% CI, -0.45, -0.60; p < 0.001). Olfactory function was not correlated with disease-specific or general health-related QOL measures. Conclusion Although previous studies have suggested that olfactory impairment is associated with poor QOL, this study found no such correlation. In contrast, olfaction scores correlated well with other objective measures of CRS, namely, endoscopy and CT scores.