The effect of functional endoscopic sinus surgery on pulmonary improvement of controlled asthmatic patients with chronic sinusitis.

The relationship between asthma and sinusitis has been proposed in many reports but the role of sinus surgery in their treatment is still controversial. Therefore, the effect of functional sinus surgery in patients with controlled asthma was evaluated. Fifty six patients with a history of sinusitis in whom maximum medical treatment had failed and also those with a history of asthma who were in a stable condition at time of surgery and were candidates for endoscopic sinus surgery were selected. All those who underwent functional endoscopic sinus surgery were re-evaluated at last one year later for pulmonary and sinus status. The patients' characteristics were prospectively recorded during the study period from January 2007 to November 2009. Finally, the results of the assessments were analyzed. Among 56 studied patients, 35 (62.5%) were female and 21 (37.5%) male. Preoperative imaging, evaluated according to Lund Mac Kay score, had a mean score of 19.5±5. The average effect of FESS in asthma improvement was 69.6%. Asthma improvement had a significant relationship with the duration of asthma and sinusitis before surgery. Functional endoscopic sinus surgery can effectively treat sinusitis in asthmatic patients. Earlier intervention in the course of pulmonary disease may warrant a better outcome.