Safety of ethmoid sinus drug-eluting catheter insertion.

Objectives: We sought to evaluate an instrument that allows a drug-eluting catheter to be inserted into the ethmoid sinuses and to demonstrate its safety and reproducibility in a cadaver model.

Methods: A drug-eluting catheter was placed into 12 cadaveric anterior and posterior ethmoid sinuses by use of a trocar-based insertion device. The device's position was analyzed with computed tomographic scans, and postprocedural dissection was performed.

Results: The drug-eluting catheter system was successfully inserted in all ethmoid sinuses without injury to the medial orbital wall, skull base, or sphenoid face. The final position of the distal tip of the catheter averaged 8.1 mm (root mean square [RMS], 3.3 mm) from the skull base, 5.6 mm (RMS, 3.5 mm) from the sphenoid face, and 5.0 mm (RMS, 3.5 mm) from the lamina papyracea; the proximal tip was at the face of the ethmoid bulla and 17.1 mm (RMS, 3.5 mm) below the skull base.

Conclusions: A trocar-based instrument can relatively safely and reproducibly introduce a drug-eluting catheter into the ethmoid sinuses without injuring the skull base, lamina papyracea, or sphenoid face. This device may allow safe topical drug delivery into the ethmoid sinuses and serve as a vehicle to treat chronic ethmoid sinusitis with direct and sustained topical therapy.