Long term outcomes of balloon sinuplasty for the treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis with and without nasal polyps.

Abstract Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate the 4-year outcomes and effectiveness of balloon sinuplasty in the treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). Material and methods We evaluated the long-term outcomes in terms of symptoms, nasal endoscopy and computed tomography of 110 patients with CRS submitted to balloon sinuplasty in Centro Hospitalar do Funchal retrospectively. Sinus symptoms were determined by the Sino-Nasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22), endoscopic examination determined by Modified Lund Kennedy score (MLK) and computerized tomography scan of paranasal sinuses (CT-PNS) was evaluated through Lund Mackay scores (LM). Data was collected from 82 patients with chronic rhinosinusitis without nasal polyps (CRSsNP) and from 28 patients with nasal polyps (CRSwNP). Results Local anesthesia procedures were performed in 45.5% of the patients. First follow up was obtained at 2 years (median 22.45 ± 13.6 months) and at 4 years (median 44.45 ± 14 months) after balloon sinuplasty. The mean baseline SNOT-22 score was of 50.26 ± 15.33 for patients with CRSsNP and 52.25 ± 18.06 in CRSsNP patients. Both scores were reduced to 7.00 ± 13.5 and 10.00 ± 22.50 at 4 years follow-up respectively. Baseline MLK score was 4.90 ± 2.12 for patients in CRSsNP group and 10.00 ± 2.00 in the CRSwNP group Both scores were reduced to 1.65 ± 1.67 and 4.86 ± 2.16. The overall mean average LM CT-PNS score was 8.71 ± 4.728 preoperatively for the CRSsNP and 16.18 ± 3.9 in patients with CRSwNP and were reduced to 1.00 ± 1.75 and 8.69 ± 4.6 after BSP. SNOT 22, MLK and LM scores showed consistent improvement over baseline at all time points until the end of the study (median 44.45 ± 14 months). Significant improvements were recorded at all time points in the patient's symptom score, nasal endoscopy scores and imaging scores (P  Conclusion Balloon sinuplasty appears to be safe and effective for the treatment of CRS with great long-term outcomes.