• Elena Cantone, Giovanni Castagna, Stefania Sicignano, Immacolata Ferranti, Felice Rega, Vittoria Di Rubbo, and Maurizio Iengo.
• Department of Neuroscience, Reproductive and Odontostomatologic Science, ENT Unit, "Federico II" University, Naples, Italy; Department of Molecular Medicine and Medical Biotechnology, "Federico II" University, Naples, Italy.
• Int Forum Allergy Rhinol. 2014 Jun 1;4(6):484-7.

BackgroundFunctional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) has become the treatment of choice for patients with medically resistant chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) and nasal polyps. Despite the consolidated use of different treatments, the postoperative period is often very painful and uncomfortable, especially during the first month. Although evidence on the effectiveness of sodium hyaluronate (SH) on postoperative care following FESS is available, data on the quality of life (QoL) from the patients' perspective are still lacking. This study aimed to evaluate for the first time the effectiveness of nasal douche with SH in reducing patients' discomfort during the first month following FESS.MethodsA double-blind randomized controlled study was carried out on 124 subjects undergoing FESS for CRS with nasal polyposis. They were divided into 2 groups: group I was treated with nasal douche containing 9 mg of high molecular weight SH plus saline solution and group II was treated with saline solution alone. To assess QoL in CRS patients, the Short Form-36 (SF-36) test, the Sino-Nasal Outcome Test-22 (SNOT-22), and the visual analogue scale (VAS) questionnaires were administered.ResultsAt baseline, there were no statistically significant differences between the 2 groups. However, after 30 days of long postoperative treatments, we found clinically significant improvements in QoL of subjects treated with SH, as evidenced by all QoL scales.ConclusionOur data indicate that SH significantly improves patients' short-term QoL following FESS in terms of both general health and specific sinonasal status.© 2014 ARS-AAOA, LLC.

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