Zara M. Patel

Clinical Practice Guideline (Update): Adult Sinusitis

Objective This update of a 2007 guideline from the American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery Foundation provides evidence-based recommendations to manage adult rhinosinusitis, defined as symptomatic inflammation of the paranasal sinuses and nasal cavity. Changes from the prior guideline include a consumer added to the update group, evidence from 42 new systematic reviews, enhanced information on patient education and counseling, a new algorithm to clarify action statement relationships, expanded opportunities for watchful waiting (without antibiotic therapy) as initial therapy of acute bacterial rhinosinusitis (ABRS), and 3 new recommendations for managing chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). Purpose The purpose of this multidisciplinary guideline is to identify quality improvement opportunities in managing adult rhinosinusitis and to create explicit and actionable recommendations to implement these opportunities in clinical practice. Specifically, the goals are to improve diagnostic accuracy for adult rhinosinusitis, promote appropriate use of ancillary tests to confirm diagnosis and guide management, and promote judicious use of systemic and topical therapy, which includes radiography, nasal endoscopy, computed tomography, and testing for allergy and immune function. Emphasis was also placed on identifying multiple chronic conditions that would modify management of rhinosinusitis, including asthma, cystic fibrosis, immunocompromised state, and ciliary dyskinesia. Action statements The update group made strong recommendations that clinicians (1) should distinguish presumed ABRS from acute rhinosinusitis (ARS) caused by viral upper respiratory infections and noninfectious conditions and (2) should confirm a clinical diagnosis of CRS with objective documentation of sinonasal inflammation, which may be accomplished using anterior rhinoscopy, nasal endoscopy, or computed tomography. The update group made recommendations that clinicians (1) should either offer watchful waiting (without antibiotics) or prescribe initial antibiotic therapy for adults with uncomplicated ABRS; (2) should prescribe amoxicillin with or without clavulanate as first-line therapy for 5 to 10 days (if a decision is made to treat ABRS with an antibiotic); (3) should reassess the patient to confirm ABRS, exclude other causes of illness, and detect complications if the patient worsens or fails to improve with the initial management option by 7 days after diagnosis or worsens during the initial management; (4) should distinguish CRS and recurrent ARS from isolated episodes of ABRS and other causes of sinonasal symptoms; (5) should assess the patient with CRS or recurrent ARS for multiple chronic conditions that would modify management, such as asthma, cystic fibrosis, immunocompromised state, and ciliary dyskinesia; (6) should confirm the presence or absence of nasal polyps in a patient with CRS; and (7) should recommend saline nasal irrigation, topical intranasal corticosteroids, or both for symptom relief of CRS. The update group stated as options that clinicians may (1) recommend analgesics, topical intranasal steroids, and/or nasal saline irrigation for symptomatic relief of viral rhinosinusitis; (2) recommend analgesics, topical intranasal steroids, and/or nasal saline irrigation) for symptomatic relief of ABRS; and (3) obtain testing for allergy and immune function in evaluating a patient with CRS or recurrent ARS. The update group made recommendations that clinicians (1) should not obtain radiographic imaging for patients who meet diagnostic criteria for ARS, unless a complication or alternative diagnosis is suspected, and (2) should not prescribe topical or systemic antifungal therapy for patients with CRS.

The evolution of management for inverted papilloma: an analysis of 200 cases.

Objectives: To assess the evolution of management within one institution with the largest case series and longest clinical follow-up of IP to date in the literature and to compare this management with what has been recently presented in publication. Method: A case series was performed assessing sex, age, presenting symptoms, origin of lesion, staging, primary versus recurrence, radiographic findings, method of treatment, rate of recurrence, and associated malignancy. Results: Two hundred patients (average age, 57) underwent endoscopic or endoscopic-assisted resection of IP. The mean follow-up was 4.3 years (range, 9 months-19 years). Eighty percent of cases over the last decade had prior surgery before presentation. Sixty-three percent were Krouse stage T3, and 25 percent were T4. Combined approaches were used for 57 percent of the most recent 40 cases, including Caldwell-Luc, lateral rhinotomy, medial maxillectomy, trephine, or osteoplastic flap. Conclusion: Inverted papilloma can be addressed endoscopically when possible, with data from this study and the current literature suggesting this is feasible in 43 percent to 66 percent of cases. This decision should be made for each individual case, and variables that will likely affect the decision to use adjuvant external approaches include significant scarring and anatomic distortion from previous surgery, high Krouse stage, and associated malignancy.

The Development and Pathologic Processes that Influence Maxillary Sinus Pneumatization

The maxillary sinus is universally described as a pyramidal‐shaped cavity in the maxilla. Hypoplasia, which can occur unilaterally or bilaterally, is graded by the authors by the degree of failure of descent below the nasal floor in achieving its position adjacent to the posterior dentition in the adult. Unlike early studies using plain X‐rays, which considered pneumatization into the zygomatic recess and dental alveolus as criteria, the authors have adopted the above‐cited parameters based on computed tomography (CT) imaging, which reveals that even when smaller the sinus retains a pyramidal configuration, although truncated. Rarely, the sinus is excessively pneumatized in the nonpathologic state. Review of the literature failed to reveal a comprehensive study of the conditions that alter maxillary sinus volume and configuration. Based on a retrospective review of 6,000 high resolution CT scans of the paranasal sinuses, the types and relative incidences of these conditions have been determined, and a classification system proposed. The mixed‐sex sample group (= 2,540) was comprised of nonpediatric (adolescent and adult) and was of a polyethnic composition. Results showed that enlargement of the sinus is uncommonly encountered, and is produced by air (pneumocele) and mucus (mucocele) entrapment, or by benign tumors which have arisen in the sinus or adjacent maxilla and have grown intracavitarily, with the sinus walls expanding and remodeling to accommodate them. Reduction in size and volume is more frequent. Heredo‐familial syndromic conditions reduce sinus size by impaired facial growth centers, or obliteration by dense osteosclerosis. Irradiation for neoplastic disease in the pediatric population similarly, directly effect growth centers, or impairs pituitary function. Another iatrogenic cause, direct surgical intervention (Caldwell‐Luc procedure) almost universally alters sinus volume and shape by osteoneogenesis. Midfacial fractures involving the sinus also produce distortion by sclerosis as well as by malpositioning of bone fragments. The principal systemic disorders, sickle cell anemia and osteopetrosis, which diffusely effect medullary bone, do so either through compensatory marrow proliferation or sclerotic new bone formation, thus serving to produce maxillary enlargement and sinus obliteration. The greatest source of maxillary sinus distortion and destruction are neoplasms. Malignant sinonasal and oral cavity tumors produce bony erosion of the sinus walls, whereas benign odontogenic cysts remain external to the sinuses and compress it as they enlarge. Most odontogenic tumors produce external compression and remodeling. Fibro‐osseous disorders similarly produce size and shape distortions by external impingement. Although diverse developmental and pathological conditions influence maxillary sinus morphology, there is a limited range of biologic response. Anat Rec, 291:1554–1563, 2008.

Clinical practice guideline (update): Adult sinusitis executive summary

The American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery Foundation has published a supplement to this issue featuring the updated “Clinical Practice Guideline: Adult Sinusitis” as a supplement to Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery. To assist in implementing the guideline recommendations, this article summarizes the rationale, purpose, and key action statements. The 14 developed recommendations address diagnostic accuracy for adult rhinosinusitis, the appropriate use of ancillary tests to confirm diagnosis and guide management (including radiography, nasal endoscopy, computed tomography, and testing for allergy and immune function), and the judicious use of systemic and topical therapy. Emphasis was also placed on identifying multiple chronic conditions that would modify management of rhinosinusitis, including asthma, cystic fibrosis, immunocompromised state, and ciliary dyskinesia. An updated guideline is needed as a result of new clinical trials, new systematic reviews, and the lack of consumer participation in the initial guideline development group.

Surgical therapy vs continued medical therapy for medically refractory chronic rhinosinusitis: A systematic review and meta-analysis

The currently accepted treatment paradigm of treating chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) first with appropriate medical therapy (AMT) and then with surgery if patients are refractory to AMT, has been criticized for lack of evidence. The objective of this study was to reassess the literature and establish the highest level of evidence possible regarding further management of CRS patients refractory to AMT.

Sinus headache: rhinogenic headache or migraine? An evidence-based guide to diagnosis and treatment.

Patients present to physicians across multiple disciplines with the complaint of sinus headache. This lay term is widely accepted in the media, yet has been repeatedly questioned in the medical literature, and experts in the fields of otolaryngology, neurology, and allergy have agreed that it is an overused and often incorrect diagnosis in the majority of patients. There have been review articles and consensus panels established regarding this issue, but thus far no guidelines based purely on a review of the level of evidence provided by the literature.

Improvement in the detection of locoregional recurrence in head and neck malignancies: F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography/computed tomography compared to high-resolution contrast-enhanced computed tomography and endoscopic examination.

To compare the diagnostic efficacy of positron emission tomography (PET) with F‐18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG‐PET)/computed tomography (CT) to that of contrast‐enhanced high‐resolution CT (HRCT) and assess the value of a combinatorial approach in detection of recurrent squamous cell cancer of the head and neck (HNC) and to assess the efficacy of FDG‐PET/CT with and without HRCT in comparison to standard‐of‐care follow‐up—physical examination (PE) and endoscopy (E)—in determination of locally recurrent HNC.

Multi-institutional study of risk factors for perioperative morbidity following transnasal endoscopic pituitary adenoma surgery

The goal of this study was to identify preoperative risk factors associated with increased perioperative morbidity after endoscopic pituitary surgery.

Immunotherapy compliance: comparison of subcutaneous versus sublingual immunotherapy

Patient compliance is critical for successful allergen immunotherapy (AIT). Previous studies suggest that AIT compliance is worse outside of controlled clinical trials, with reported subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) and sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) noncompliance at 11% to 50% and 3% to 25%, respectively.

Comparing use of the Sonopet® ultrasonic bone aspirator to traditional instrumentation during the endoscopic transsphenoidal approach in pituitary tumor resection

The Sonopet® ultrasonic bone aspirator (Stryker®, Kalamazoo, MI) has been used within neurosurgery, otolaryngology and in other fields, but to our knowledge has not been reported in the literature for use in endoscopic transsphenoidal approaches (TSAs) to the skull base. The study objective was to compare use of the ultrasonic bone aspirator (UBA) vs traditional cold steel instrumentation during TSA in terms of operative time and blood loss.