Outcomes after nasal septoplasty: Results from the Nasal Obstruction Septoplasty Effectiveness (NOSE) study☆
Abstract
Objective
Our goal was to assess disease-specific quality of life outcomes after nasal septoplasty in adults with nasal obstruction.
Design, settings, and patients
We conducted a prospective observational outcomes multicenter study with 14 sites and 16 investigators, including private practice and academic settings. Patients had had septal deviation and symptomatic nasal obstruction for at least 3 months, and medical management had failed.
Methods
Patients with septal deviation completed a validated outcomes instrument (the Nasal Obstruction Septoplasty Effectiveness [NOSE] scale) before and 3 and 6 months after septoplasty, with or without partial turbinectomy.
Results
Fifty-nine patients underwent surgery; there was a significant improvement in mean NOSE score at 3 months after septoplasty (67.5 versus 23.1, P < 0.0001), and this improvement was unchanged at 6 months. Patient satisfaction was very high, and patients used significantly fewer nasal medications.
Conclusions
In patients with septal deformity, nasal septoplasty results in significant improvement in disease-specific quality of life, high patient satisfaction, and decreased medication use.
aBobby R. Alford Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Communicative Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA (Dr Stewart)
bDepartment of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA (Dr Smith)
cHealth Services Research and Development Service, VA Puget Sound Healthcare System, and the Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA (Drs Weaver and Yueh)
dDivision of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Surgery, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA (Dr Witsell)
eAmerican Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Foundation, Alexandria, VA, USA (Drs Hannley, Johnson, and Witsell)
fDepartment of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA (Dr Johnson)
Reprint requests: Michael G. Stewart, MD, MPH, The Bobby R. Alford Department of Otorinolaryngology and Communicative Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, NA-102, Houston, TX 77030, USA
☆ This study was supported by the National Center for the Promotion of Research in Otolaryngology at the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Foundation, which was partially funded by a generous unrestricted grant from Schering-Plough Corporation. Dr Weaver is supported by Career Development Award HL068849 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Dr Yueh is supported by a Career Development Award CD-98318 from the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Health Services Research and Development Service. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
* *NOSE Study Investigators: C. Ron Cannon, MD, Joel Ernster, MD, Bruce Gordon, MD, Andrew Gould, MD, James Hadley, MD, Patty Huang, MD, Barton Knox, MD, Howard Levine, MD, Vincent Nalbone, MD, Mark Reinke, MD, John S. Rhee, MD, J. Lewis Romett, MD, Richard Scher, MD, and authors Timothy L. Smith, Michael G. Stewart, Edward L. Weaver, and David L. Witsell.
ABSTRACT