Improvement of sinonasal mucociliary function by endoscopic sinus surgery in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis

Mucociliary clearance is an important defense mechanism for upper and lower airway. Chronic rhinosinusitis has been frequently associated with mucociliary dysfunction. Endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) is recommended for treatment-resistant sinusitis in order to improve mucociliary function. The present study investigated the effect of ESS on the saccharin time (mucociliary clearance time) in relation to symptom profile assessed by the Sino-nasal Outcome Test (SNOT)-22, and disease severity based on the Lund-Kennedy endoscopic scores and Lund-Mackay computed tomographic (CT) scores. The present cohort study included 22 patients with chronic rhinosinusitis who were considered a candidate for ESS due to lack of response to medical treatment. Saccharin test was used before and 3 months after ESS to evaluate changes in mucociliary function. The CT scan was used for preoperative assessment of sinonasal anatomy. In addition, diagnostic nasal endoscopy was performed before and 3 months after ESS. The CT scan and nasal endoscopy findings were respectively analyzed based on the Lund-Mackay and the Lund-Kennedy staging systems recommended for chronic rhinosinusitis. Symptom severity was assessed from before to 3 months after ESS using SNOT-22. The present study showed decreased saccharin time in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis three months after ESS. The mean pre-operative and post-operative saccharin time were 23.4 and 16.9 min, respectively. There was also a trend toward significance for the effect of changes in the SNOT-22 scores on changes in saccharin time. By contrast, no effects of age, gender, pre-operative Lund-Mackay CT scores, and changes in Lund-Kennedy endoscopy scores were observed on post-ESS saccharin time. The study confirms that ESS in patients with treatment-resistant chronic rhinosinusitis confers improvement in performance on the saccharin test of mucociliary function.