Endoscopic sinus surgery in adults with cystic fibrosis: effect on lung function, intravenous antibiotic use, and hospitalization.

Objective: To ascertain the effect of endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) on lung function, intravenous (IV) antibiotic use, and hospitalization in adults with cystic fibrosis (CF).

Design: Retrospective analysis.

Settings: Tertiary care center.

Patients: Fifteen adults with a diagnosis of CF undergoing ESS between March 1, 2006, and June 31, 2008.

Main outcome measures: Twelve-month preoperative and 12-month postoperative pulmonary function testing (forced vital capacity [FVC] and forced expired volume in 1 second [FEV1]), number of IV antibiotic courses, total number of days of intravenous antibiotic use, and number of inpatient hospital days (IHDs) were assessed.

Results: Twenty-two adults with CF underwent ESS; 15 patients had adequate data for evaluation. No significant differences were found between mean preoperative and postoperative FEV1 (61.3% vs 59.5%; P = .41) or FVC (76.4% vs 76.1%; P = .97) or between best preoperative and postoperative FEV1 (67.4% vs 67.0%; P = .95) or FVC (84.2% vs 83.0%; P = .86) (paired samples t test). The number of IV antibiotic courses and the total number of days of IV antibiotic use did not differ between the preoperative and postoperative periods (Wilcoxon signed rank test P = .61 and P = .10, respectively). However, the number of IHDs was significantly lower in the 1-year postoperative period (36.7 days) vs the 1-year preoperative period (59.1 days) (Wilcoxon signed rank test, z = -2.20, P = .03).

Conclusions: This preliminary study of ESS in adult CF patients indicates significant reduction in the number of IHDs in the postoperative period. However, there is no evidence that ESS improved lung function or the need for IV antibiotics.