Postoperative Systemic Corticosteroids When Utilizing a Steroid-Eluting Spacer Following Endoscopic Sinus Surgery
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2013-12-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is an inflammatory condition of the nose and sinuses. It affects
about 5 to 10% of Canadians. Patients suffer from congestion in the nose and sinuses, nasal
discharge, pressure in the face, and a reduced sense of smell. This affects people's
enjoyment of life. Medical management uses sprays or pills to treat these symptoms but for
some patients sinus surgery is needed. This type of surgery is called endoscopic sinus
surgery (ESS).
There is no single correct approach to take care of patients after sinus surgery. Most
experts would use a nasal spray and a short-course of oral steroid pills to reduce sinus
swelling and minimize complications related to scarring.
"Steroid-eluting nasal spacers" are devices placed inside the sinus during surgery and slowly
release topical steroids into the sinuses better than steroid sprays. These "spacers" have
been shown to improve results following sinus surgery. When using these special "spacers",
there may no longer be a need for oral steroid pills following surgery. This would help to
avoid potential side effects associated with these medications.
The purpose of this study is to find out whether taking oral (systemic) steroid pills
following sinus surgery is necessary to improve surgical results, now that steroid-eluting
nasal spacers are commonly used during surgery.