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Patients with chronic rhinosinusitis see improved outcomes with continued medical therapy

Patients with chronic rhinosinusitis who chose continued medical therapy had improved quality of life, which translated to better productivity costs and fewer absentee days at work, according to research presented in JAMA Otolaryngology — Head & Neck Surgery.

“Patients with refractory [chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS)] often make treatment decisions based on their degree of [quality of life (QOL)] and productivity impairment,” Luke Rudmik, MD, MSc, of the division of otolaryngology–head and neck surgery and department of surgery at the University of Calgary, and colleagues wrote. “Outcomes from the present study suggest that patients with refractory CRS who select continued medical therapy tend to have mild reductions in baseline productivity and that the productivity outcomes can be maintained with continued medical therapy. Physicians can use this information to discuss the expected outcomes from continued medical therapy with patients.”

To evaluate the change in productivity costs for patients with CRS with continued medical therapy, Rudmik and colleagues enrolled 38 patients from four different rhinology centers between December 2010 and April 2013. The researchers analyzed factors such as lost leisure time, absenteeism and presenteeism at baseline and 6-month follow-up to determine annual lost productive time, which was presented as a dollar amount using statistics from the U.S. National Census daily wage rate in 2012 and statistics from the Department of Labor in 2013, according to the abstract.

Researchers found that patients had a mean annual productivity cost of $3,464 (SD = $4,900), which was reduced to $2,730 (SD = $3,720) after mean 12.8 months of follow-up with continued medical therapy. The mean number of absentee days for these patients was reduced from 5 days (SD = 12 days) to 2 days (SD = 8 days), while the mean number of presenteeism days was reduced from 17 days (SD = 27 days) to 15 days (SD = 23 days). Rudmik and colleagues also found that the mean number of household days lost (7 days; SD = 7 days) was reduced to 6 days (SD = 6 days), but remained the same from baseline. The researchers noted no significant differences in productivity outcomes regarding age, polyp status, endoscopy or the 22-item Sinonasal Outcome Test score.– by Jeff Craven

Disclosure: Soler is a paid consultant for Brainlab and Olympus Corp; Smith is a paid consultant for Intersect ENT Inc.; Schlosser is a paid consultant for Olympus Corp and Arrinex; and DeConde is a paid consultant for Intersect ENT Inc.