CHARACTERISTICS OF CHRONIC RHINOSINUSITIS PHENOTYPES IN PATIENTS UNDERGOING FUNCTIONAL ENDOSCOPIC SINUS SURGERY: AN OBSERVATIONAL COHORT RETROSPECTIVE STUDY.

This study analyzed the characteristics of chronic rhinosinusitis patients with and without nasal polyps failing conservative treatment and undergoing functional endoscopic sinus surgery as part of their treatment for chronic inflammatory sinonasal disease. The aim of this retrospective single-institution cohort study conducted at a university hospital tertiary referral center was to evaluate the characteristics of patients with both disease phenotypes in whom conservative treatment was unsuccessful. Patients who were surgically treated with functional endoscopic sinus surgery performed by two rhinology surgeons during a one-year period (2016) were enrolled in the study. Patient data collection included demographics, risk factor exposure, diagnosis, and type of endoscopic surgical procedure performed. In total, 185 patients were included in the study. Patients with malignant disease and those with incomplete data were excluded from the study. In the group of patients with nasal polyps, mean age, male gender, presence of allergy (34.9%), asthma (21.4%), aspirin sensitivity (6.3%), cystic fibrosis (1.6%), and previous nasal surgery rates (36.5%) were significantly higher as compared with the group of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis without nasal polyps. Septal deviation was more prevalent in the chronic rhinosinusitis group (55%) as compared to the group with nasal polyps (25%). The ethmoid (17%) and maxillary sinus (13%) were most frequently involved, but most of the patients who needed surgery had involvement of multiple or all sinuses (40%). The reasons for conservative treatment failure in chronic rhinosinusitis are multifactorial, but identifying the most prevalent characteristics in patients treated surgically may be helpful in identifying patients who would benefit most from surgery.