LANDMARK: Pediatric FESS versus Balloon catheter sinuplasty and ethmoidectomy

Functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) alone versus balloon catheter sinuplasty (BCS) and ethmoidectomy: a comparative outcome analysis in pediatric chronic rhinosinusitis.

Thottam PJ, Haupert M, Saraiya S, Dworkin J, Sirigiri R, Belenky WM.

Thottam PJ, Haupert M, Saraiya S, Dworkin J, Sirigiri R, Belenky WM. Functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) alone versus balloon catheter sinuplasty (BCS) and ethmoidectomy: a comparative outcome analysis in pediatric chronic rhinosinusitis. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2012;76(9):1355-60.

Take Home Points:

    • This is the first study comparing BCS and FESS in children.
    • BCS with ethmoidectomy and FESS are both safe and effective treatment options for otherwise healthy children suffering from uncomplicated CRS who do not respond to medical therapy
    • There is a significant overall decrease in sinus symptoms for both traditional FESS and BCS with ethmoidectomy.
  • More patients who had BCS reported no further antibiotic use post-operatively than patients who had FESS.

The Details:

    • Retrospective cohort blinded chart review of patients between the ages 3-17 with CRS who underwent sinus surgery (Functional endoscopic sinus surgery or Balloon catheter sinuplasty) at Children’s Hospital of Michigan from 2008-2011. These patients failed medical therapy and experienced intractable symptoms for at least 90 days.
    • Exclusion Criteria: children diagnosed with craniofacial abnormalities, immunodeficiency, disorders, mucociliary disease, child with complicated rhinosinusitis described by 2007 sinusitis guidelines with sinonasal polyps or unilateral sinus disease.
    • Measures: cough, headache, rhinorrhea, facial pain, PND and/or congestion refractory to medical therapy and affecting daily life. Assessed pre-surgical intervention, 2-4 weeks post-surgical intervention, and final post surgical exam (>4 months). All subjects had CT evidence of disease and Lund-Mackay score completed pre-operatively.
    • Outcomes: Created a symptomatic score. Each symptom received 1 point if they had symptoms for more than 6 h a day and affecting daily life. Success and improvement was defined as decrease in total complaint score by 1 or more points
    • Refer to Table 1 for symptom statistics
    • Refer to Fig 1 for breakdown of which patients underwent which surgery
    • 31 patients met inclusion and exclusion criteria and were included in this study
    • Pre-operatively, no differences were seen in symptoms or Lund-Mackay scores between groups.
    • In the 2-4 week post-operative period, there was a significant improvement of sinus congestion in the BCS group compared to FESS group.
    • 80% of patients who had BCS with ethmoidectomy and 62.5% of patients who had FESS with ethmoidectomy had significant improvement of sinus complaints at final postoperative assessment (average follow up of 37 weeks)
    • 73.3% of BCS patients reported no further use of antibiotics while only 37.5% of FESS patient reported no further use of antibiotics.
    • BCS significantly improved congestion in patients at their final post surgical visit when compared to FESS (p =.05). Patients with headaches demonstrated a significant improvement after undergoing FESS (p =.05)
    • Refer Table 2 for individual symptom report pre-surgery and final post surgical visit
  • Refer Table 3 for number and percentages of patients in their respective groups reporting improvement of sinus symptoms.

Limitations:

    • Low statistical power (31 patients)
  • Subjective measures of symptoms

Summary contributed by Sahil Patel