Significance of nasal polyps in chronic rhinosinusitis: symptoms and surgical outcomes.

PURPOSE: To demonstrate the significance of nasal polyps on the symptoms of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) and their influence on surgical outcomes.

METHODS: Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data comparing two groups of patients diagnosed with CRS with and without nasal polyps that underwent surgical management with a minimum 1-year follow-up period. Subjective scoring was performed using the Sino-Nasal Outcome Test (SNOT-20) questionnaire. Computed tomography (CT) scans were compared using the Lund-Mackay scoring system. The two groups were analyzed for the need of revision surgery.

RESULTS: Two hundred one patients underwent surgical management of CRS over a 3-year period. One hundred four were male, 97 were female, and the average age was 49 (range 18-80) years. Polyps were present in 78 patients with CRS, whereas 123 patients did not have polyps. The average CT score was 18 for the polyp group and 9.5 for the patients without polyps (P = .0000). Nonpolyp group SNOT-20 scores were 26.5 preoperatively with improvement to 5.1 at 6 months and 5.0 at 12 months postoperatively (85% improvement). Polyp group SNOT-20 preoperative scores averaged 32.2 with improvement to 9.2 at 6 months and 9.1 at 12 months postoperatively (81% improvement, P = .003). Nine patients required revision surgery (4.5%), eight (10%) who had polyps and one (0.8%) who did not (P = .002).

CONCLUSION: The presence of nasal polyps has a significant negative impact on patients with CRS. Patients with nasal polyps have more severe symptoms with less improvement after operative intervention, higher CT scores at presentation, and a significantly higher need for revision surgery.