Chitogel improves long-term health economic outcomes following endoscopic sinus surgery in severe chronic rhinosinusitis patients.

Introduction: Chronic rhinosinusitis causes severe symptoms that can affect patient quality of life. Endoscopic sinus surgery can be effective in improving symptoms, although surgical outcomes can be compromised post-operatively, and revision surgery is required in a proportion of patients. This study compares outcomes and healthcare resource use in patients undergoing sinus surgery with or without Chitogel as a post-operative dressing. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using deidentified audit data from adult patients with severe chronic rhinosinusitis, who underwent endoscopic sinus surgery between January 2016 and December 2021. Patients in the intervention group received Chitogel as a post-operative dressing, and control patients received standard best-practice care. Cox Proportional Hazards survival analysis was used to compare revision surgery rates and time to revision between treatment groups. The rate of revision surgery was used to estimate potential health sector savings associated with use of Chitogel following surgery compared to the control arm, considering initial treatment costs and the cost of revision surgery. Results: Over 18-24 months, patients treated with Chitogel demonstrated significantly lower rates of revision surgery (p = 0.035), and a trend towards decreased use of post-operative steroids, compared to control. Potential health sector savings due to reduced rates of revision surgery following use of Chitogel are estimated as NZ $753,000 per 100 patients. Conclusion: Severe chronic rhinosinusitis patients treated with Chitogel had lower rates of revision surgery within the first 18-24 months post-operative. These findings suggest that use of Chitogel can improve long-term patient outcomes and should improve health system efficiency.

Effects of a novel chitosan gel on mucosal wound healing following endoscopic sinus surgery in a sheep model of chronic rhinosinusitis.

INTRODUCTION: Postoperative bleeding and adhesion formation remain the two major problems after endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS). This study investigates the effect on adhesion formation and wound healing in a sheep model of chronic sinusitis of three topical agents: recombinant tissue factor (rTF, Dade Innovin, Marburg, Germany), poly-ethylene glycol (SprayGel, Confluent Surgical, Waltham, MA), and a novel chitosan-dextran derivative gel (CD, Department of Chemistry, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand). METHODS: Twenty sheep with chronic sinusitis underwent ESS with standardized mucosal injuries created on the lateral nasal wall and the ethmoid region. Injured areas were divided into four groups, and one of the three agents or control (no treatment) was randomly applied. The presence and severity of adhesions were noted and the healing was evaluated by taking brushings for ciliary beat frequency and biopsies of the injured regions at day 28, 56, 84, and 112 post initial surgery. The biopsy specimens were assessed for re-epithelialisation using light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy for reciliation. The cytobrush specimens assessed cilial function by measuring ciliary beat frequency. RESULTS: CD significantly decreased lateral nasal wall and ethmoidal adhesions compared to tissue factor at all time points (5% vs. 25%, and 0 vs. 50%, respectively). There was a noticeable trend toward decreased adhesions on the lateral nasal wall and ethmoids in the SprayGel group (10% and 14%) and the CD group (10% and 0%) compared to controls (15% and 40%). The CD group had a significantly greater percentage of re-epithelialisation at day 28 and day 84 compared to the rTF group (70% vs. 33%, P < .001; 84.5% vs. 61%, P < 0.05). At day 28, the CD group was significantly more ciliated than control (62% vs. 31%, P < .01) and than rTF (62% vs. 23%, P < .001). This difference between CD and rTF reciliation remained significant at day 56 (67% vs. 40%, P < .05). In addition, the mean cilial grade for CD at day 112 was significantly better than control (1.9 vs. 2.7, P < .05). CONCLUSION: In the sheep model of chronic sinusitis, CD significantly improves microscopic wound healing and reduces adhesion formation after ESS.

Endoscopic vidian neurectomy.

BACKGROUND: Vidian neurectomy has in the past been advocated for the treatment of vasomotor rhinitis. With the recent better understanding of nasal and sinus anatomy, the surgical technique and outcomes of this procedure have been reassessed in this preliminary report. METHODS: A total of nine patients with symptoms of vasomotor rhinitis underwent 14 endoscopic vidian neurectomies between 1998 and 2001. All patients had negative screening for allergies on their serum or on skin-prick tests. The surgical technique for endoscopic vidian neurectomy is presented. The outcomes for the patients were retrospectively assessed with patients asked to score their pre- and postoperative symptoms rating these symptoms on a scale of 1-10 after a mean follow-up of 25 months (range, 21-36 months). RESULTS: On this retrospective analysis there was a significant improvement in the symptoms of rhinorrhea (p = 0.018) and nasal obstruction (p = 0.011). There was no significant difference between the pre- to postoperative symptoms for postnasal drip or sneezing. The most common minor adverse effect was dry eyes (35.7%) and nasal crusting (28.6%). CONCLUSION: Endoscopic vidian neurectomy improves the symptoms of nasal obstruction and rhinorrhea in patients with vasomotor rhinitis.

The incidence of complications after canine fossa puncture performed during endoscopic sinus surgery.

BACKGROUND: Patients with extensive disease affecting the maxillary sinus may require a canine fossa approach for complete removal of disease. This study was designed to determine the complications associated with this procedure. METHODS: We performed a retrospective study of 21 patients who had undergone a canine fossa puncture at an academic hospital complex in Adelaide, Australia. RESULTS: A total of 37 canine fossa punctures were made in 21 patients. Twenty-eight of the 37 (75.7%) sides in which a canine fossa puncture was performed experienced a complication. The most common complaint was of cheek swelling in 14 (38%) followed by facial pain in 12 (32%), facial numbness in 11 (30%), cheek pain in 10 (27%), dental numbness in 10 (27%), gingival complications in 9 (24%), and facial tingling in 6 (16%) of sides. Most complications (75.5%) resolved within the 1st month after surgery. Six patients (28.6%) had persistent complications with facial tingling in 3 patients (50%) followed by facial numbness and tingling in 1 patient (11%), facial numbness alone in 1 patient (8.3%), and facial pain in 1 patient (7.1%). CONCLUSION: Canine fossa antrostomy is a technique that provides additional access to the maxillary sinus. Surgeons need to be aware that, although minor, a significant number of patients will experience both transient and long-term complications.