CORTICOSTEROIDS IN THE TREATMENT OF SINUSITIS AND NASAL POLYPS

Radiologic outcomes in children with chronic rhinosinusitis and ostiomeatal complex obstruction after medical management

BACKGROUND

The presence of ostiomeatal complex obstruction can be a key component in chronic rhinosinusitis, and the medical management of this condition has not been well studied, particularly in children.

OBJECTIVE

To compare the effectiveness of antibiotics, intranasal topical corticosteroids, and oral systemic corticosteroids on radiologic outcomes in children with chronic rhinosinusitis and ostiomeatal complex obstruction.

METHODS

We reviewed the reports of 1,741 computed tomography scans performed on children at Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, Delaware, from October 1, 2001, through February 28, 2007, identifying those patients who had 2 scans performed at least 2 weeks apart but no more than 6 months apart. Forty-five instances involving abnormal ostiomeatal complex anatomy documented on the initial study with obtainable treatment information were selected for further review.

RESULTS

Of the 3 treatment modalities examined, only oral systemic corticosteroids (P = .03) and intranasal topical corticosteroids (P = .03) were found to provide significant independent contributions to predicting treatment outcome, with the former promoting a positive outcome and the latter predicting a negative outcome. The model that contained just these 2 factors also provided a significant fit to the outcome data (P = .01), producing a diminished rate of improvement expected from a combination of positive and negative influences. Neither antibiotics nor any other combination of modalities contributed to a significant improvement in model fit.

CONCLUSION

The use of oral systemic corticosteroids was found to be the only beneficial intervention, with regard to radiologic improvement, in the treatment of ostiomeatal complex obstruction in children.

Chronic sinusitis

Sinusitis is a very common chronic illness with a substantial health care impact. This review focuses on factors contributing to sinusitis pathogenesis and chronicity, including anatomic factors, disturbances in mucociliary clearance, microbial pathogens, and inflammatory factors. A distinction is made between "infectious" and "noninfectious" types of inflammation in chronic sinusitis. The inflammatory characteristics of noninfectious inflammation are reviewed primarily in the context of chronic hyperplastic sinusitis with nasal polyposis. Key features of this type of inflammation include the presence of chronic inflammatory cells, large numbers of eosinophils, and IL-5-producing T lymphocytes. Allergic fungal sinusitis is discussed as a special type of chronic sinusitis. Published studies on the outcomes of medical management are reviewed. Finally, algorithms for medical management of chronic sinusitis and allergic fungal sinusitis are presented.