Combined medical and surgical therapy improves olfaction in patients with nasal polyposis.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the outcomes of combined oral steroid, nasal steroid and surgical therapy in patients with impaired olfaction due to nasal polyposis.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This prospective observational study was undertaken in the otolaryngology department of a university hospital. During the study, 19 nasal polyposis patients were evaluated three times, i.e. before oral steroid therapy, before surgery (after steroid therapy) and after surgery, with smell identification tests, acoustic rhinometry, subjective smell score, endoscopic grading and a visual analog scale for nasal obstruction.

RESULTS

All subjective and objective measures were significantly improved after medical and surgical therapy (p < 0.01). The median smell identification score improved from 2 (interquartile range 0-4) to 5 (interquartile range 4-7) after combined therapy. Smell identification scores were found to be modestly correlated with all other examination findings.

CONCLUSION

Combined therapy seems efficient in improving smell identification scores of nasal polyposis patients.