Impact of endoscopic sinus surgery on otologic symptoms associated with chronic rhinosinusitis

Objective: To evaluate improvements in otologic symptoms after endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), and identify differences in symptoms, if any, between CRS patients with (CRSwNP) and without (CRSsNP) nasal polyposis. Material and methods: This is a prospective multi-center observational cohort study. Adults with medically recalcitrant CRS who elected ESS were enrolled in a prospective, multi-center, observational cohort study between March, 2011 and October, 2014. Preoperative evaluation of subjects included assessment of clinical characteristics, measures of disease severity, and quality of life evaluation using the 22-item SinoNasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22). Postoperative improvement in otologic symptoms (ear fullness, dizziness, ear pain) scores were evaluated and compared between CRSwNP and CRSsNP subgroups. Results: Three hundred and ninety-five study patients completed both preoperative and postoperative evaluations, with an average follow-up of 13.9 months after ESS. The prevalence of patients reporting at least one otologic symptom preoperatively (87%) significantly decreased after ESS (63%, PÂ <Â 0.001). Significant postoperative improvement across all otologic scores was also reported (PÂ