A Comparison of Budesonide Nasal Irrigation in Different Head Positions and Fluticasone Nasal Spray in Post-operative Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery Patients With Chronic Rhinosinusitis With Nasal Polyposis

Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is an inflammatory condition of the lining of the nose and sinuses that lasts 12 weeks or longer with objective evidence of mucosal inflammation (1). CRSwNP is characterized by the presence of bilateral nasal polyps in the middle meatus. Patients with CRSwNP for whom medical therapy has failed, often have functional endoscopic sinus surgery.

Nasal steroids are important post-operatively to prevent polyps from recurring. Many studies have shown that nasal steroids are superior to placebo in maintaining improvement in symptom scores, such as SNOT-22, post-operatively by preventing polyps from returning (2). Nasal steroids can reduce inflammation locally and can prevent disease relapse without the systemic effects of oral steroids. However, there is no consensus as to which nasal steroid and which delivery method is most effective in treating these patients. Traditional nasal sprays, such as fluticasone spray, may not deliver the medication widely in the nasal cavity. Budesonide is available in a respule form that can be used to instill the medication in the nose. In an attempt to more effectively deliver the medication, changes in patient's head position has been prescribed to achieve better delivery (3). The safety of intranasal budesonide, a more potent steroid than fluticasone, has been established (4, 5). However, any improved efficacy over fluticasone nasal spray remains anecdotal as head to head comparisons have not previously been performed.

Practice patterns among rhinologists in the post-operative prescription of nasal steroids vary widely. Determining which medication/delivery method is more effective will help rhinologists better treat their patients and prevent symptoms, for which the surgery was performed, from returning.