Eustachian Tube Quality of Life and Severity of Disease in Patients With Chronic Rhinosinusitis

Abstract

Background Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) has long been a suspected risk factor for Eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD). However, there have been few studies quantifying the presence of ETD in CRS patients. We sought to determine the prevalence of ETD symptoms in patients undergoing functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) for CRS using the validated 7-item Eustachian Tube Dysfunction Questionnaire (ETDQ-7) and to correlate the ETDQ-7 scores with scores of CRS symptom severity based on the 22-item Sino-Nasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22). Methods Patients for FESS were preoperatively administered both the ETDQ-7 and the SNOT-22 validated quality of life instruments. Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients were calculated. Changes in ETDQ-7 were measured at 3 months and differences were compared via paired t test. Results A total of 82 patients completed the surveys. Thirty-nine (47.6%) patients had ETDQ-7 score ≥14.5, signifying clinically significant ETD symptoms. The mean ETDQ-7 score of the study population was 15.8 ± 8.8, and the mean SNOT-22 score was 37.5 ± 19.7. The Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients between ETDQ-7 and the total SNOT-22 score were 0.52 ( P > .0001) and 0.51 ( P < .0001), respectively. There was significant improvement in ETDQ-7 scores postoperatively. Conclusion While the association between ETD and CRS has long been known, this is one of the few prospective patient studies evaluating otologic symptoms in a CRS population. We found that a significant percentage of CRS patients suffer from ETD symptoms based on patient-reported subjective outcome measures. This study demonstrates that otologic symptoms increase with CRS severity and improve after FESS.

Ortho- and retronasal olfactory performance in rhinosurgical procedures: a longitudinal comparative study

“…In patients assigned for ESS, we applied the Sino-Nasal-Outcome-Test (20 items, SNOT-20) [ 21 ] and the Eustachian Tube Dysfunction Questionnaire-7 (ETDQ-7) [ 22 , 23 ]. Both have been shown to be valuable in quantifying complaints in CRS [ 24 , 25 ]. Patients awaiting septorhinoplasty were supplied with the Rhinoplasty Outcomes Evaluation questionnaire (ROE-D) [ 26 ].…”

COVID-19 Pulmonary and Olfactory Dysfunctions: Is the Chemokine CXCL10 the Common Denominator?

“…Taken together these studies should be considered a starting point to analyze a hypothetical further role of chemokines in patients infected by COVID-19 (Wu and others 2020).…”

Gender‐related differences in outcomes after endoscopic sinus surgery

“…For example, CRS has been shown to be a risk factor for both voice disorders and Eustachian tube dysfunction. 4,5 In this study we sought to identify gender-specific differences after functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) on voice-related, Eustachian tube, and sinonasal QOL.…”

“…The 22‐item Sino‐Nasal Outcome Test (SNOT‐22) test has been widely used to evaluate sinonasal quality of life (QOL); however, the SNOT‐22 is not an exhaustive evaluation of symptoms related to CRS. For example, CRS has been shown to be a risk factor for both voice disorders and Eustachian tube dysfunction 4,5 . In this study we sought to identify gender‐specific differences after functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) on voice‐related, Eustachian tube, and sinonasal QOL.…”