RESOLVE: bioabsorbable steroid-eluting sinus implants for in-office treatment of recurrent sinonasal polyposis after sinus surgery: 6-month outcomes from a randomized, controlled, blinded study.

Background: Patients with recurrent sinonasal polyposis after endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) have limited treatment options. Safety and efficacy were previously reported for a bioabsorbable sinus implant that elutes mometasone furoate for 3 months. Here we summarize longer-term outcomes.

Methods: A randomized, controlled, blinded study with 100 chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) patients who failed medical treatment and were considered candidates for revision ESS. Treated patients (n = 57) underwent in-office implant placement. Control patients (n = 43) underwent a sham procedure. Endoscopic grading at 3 months by clinicians was corroborated by an independent review of randomized videoendoscopies by a panel of 3 sinus surgeons. Six-month follow-up included endoscopic grading and patient-reported outcomes.

Results: At 6 months, treated patients experienced significant improvement in Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation (NOSE) score (p = 0.021) and >2-fold improvement in mean nasal obstruction/congestion score (-1.06 ± 1.4 vs -0.44 ± 1.4; p = 0.124). Endoscopically, treated patients experienced significant reduction in ethmoid sinus obstruction (p < 0.001) and bilateral polyp grade (p = 0.018) compared to controls. Panel review confirmed a significant reduction in ethmoid sinus obstruction (p = 0.010) and 2-fold improvement in bilateral polyp grade (p = 0.099), which reached statistical significance (p = 0.049) in a subset of 67 patients with baseline polyp burden ≥2 bilaterally. At 6 months, control patients were at 3.6 times higher risk of remaining indicated for ESS than treated patients.

Conclusion: The symptomatic and endoscopic improvements observed confirm the efficacy of the steroid-eluting implant for in-office treatment of CRSwNP after ESS. These longer-term 6-month study results demonstrate that the steroid-eluting implant represents a durable, safe, and effective treatment strategy for this patient population.