Quality of life assessment septoplasty in patients with nasal obstruction

• Published in: Brazilian journal of otorhinolaryngology Vol. 78; no. 3; pp. 57 - 62
• Main Authors: Bezerra, Thiago Freire Pinto, Stewart, Michael G., Fornazieri, Marco Aurelio, de Mendonca Pilan, Renata Ribeiro, de Rezende Pinna, Fabio, de Melo Padua, Francini Grecco, Voegels, Richard Louis
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Brazil Elsevier Editora Ltda 01-06-2012; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adult; Female; Humans; Male; nasal obstruction; Nasal Obstruction - surgery; nasal septum; Nasal Septum - surgery; Original; Prospective Studies; Quality of Life; Surveys and Questionnaires; Treatment Outcome; nasal obstruction; quality of life; nasal septum
• ISSN: 1808-8694; 1808-8686
• DOI: 10.1590/S1808-86942012000300011

Naasal obstruction is a common complaint in the population. When caused by a deviated nasal septum, septoplasty is the procedure of choice for treating these patients. NOSE is a tool for assessing the disease-specific quality of life related to nasal obstruction.
To assess the impact of septoplasty on patients with nasal obstruction secondary to deviated nasal septum based on the disease-specific quality-of-life questionnaire. Design: Prospective.
Patients undergoing septoplasty with/ without turbinectomy after no clinical improvement with medical treatment were assessed by the NOSE questionnaire before and 3 months after surgery. We evaluated the surgical improvement based on total score, the magnitude of the surgery in the disease-specific quality of life and the correlation between the preoperative score and postoperatively improvement.
Fourty-six patients were included in the study. There was a statistically significant improvement in the preoperative NOSE score (md = 75, IQR = 26) and after three months (md = 10, IQR = 20) (p < 0.001.T-Wilcoxon). The standardized response mean was 3.07. We found a strong correlation between the preoperative score in the NOSE questionnaire and improvements in the postoperative period (r = -0.789, p < 0.001, Spearman). No difference was found in improvement scores by gender. (p = 0.668, U-Mann-Whitney).
Septoplasty resulted in a statistically significant improvement in the disease-specific QOL questionnaire.