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SELECTED ARTICLES FROM THE RECENT LITERATURE 2008
September 25, 2007
Does allergic status influence how nasal polyp patients do after sinus surgery?
Summary
Background - Frequently there is a recurrence of nasal congestion, drainage, and anosmia following functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) carried out for nasal polyposis (NP) and associated disease. Does the allergic status of the patient influence how he/she will do after such surgery?
Findings - Bonfils and Malinvaud of the Univ of Paris -Descartes in France prospectively compared the post-FESS course in 63 adults operated on for NP. They found no difference in the symptom scores, use of nasal or oral steroids in those they considered allergic (as defined by one or more positive Phadiatop blood tests) vs non-allergic (negative Phadiatop blood tests).
Reference
Acta Otolaryngol 2007;22:1-7
Editor's Comments
I think that the interpretation in this study may be flawed for the same reason that occurs in other studies where the allergic status is defined only on the basis of commercial blood studies for IgE antibodies (often called positive based on modestly elevated levels). We do not know what are the clinical allergic histories of these patients, - whether the patients were trying to avoid aeroallergens to which they were truly allergic, etc. I would like to see a repeat study in which a careful, full allergy evaluation was performed. The final conclusion may turn out to be the same but one would feel more confident to make such a judgment.
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