ABSTRACT
The effects of chronic rhino sinusitis with polyps (CRSWP) surgery on smell symptoms have not been sufficiently studied. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of CRSWP surgery on smell symptoms over short and long-term follow-up and to identify the factors that might influence their evolution. Patients and methods: This was a retrospective study about 184 patients operated endoscopically for CRSWP. In post operative period, long-term local steroids were prescribed systematically. The sense of smell was evaluated preand post-operatively according to a subjective score (1: good smell, 2: hyposmia, 3: anosmia). Some factors, related to the patient, the CRSWP and the treatment, were tested in order to identify predictors of smell outcome after surgery.. Results: Before surgery, the anosmia and the hyposmia were noted in 90.8% and in 8.7% of cases, respectively. At six months after surgery, the improvement of olfactory score was significant: 84% of patient had the score 1 compared with 0.5% preoperatively (p < 0.0001). This improvement was maintained during the 2 first years and decreased significantly at 3 years, although an average delay of polyps recurrence was 23.4 months. Among the factors studied in our series, only the observance of postoperative corticosteroids was retained as a predictor of smell recovery after surgery (p = 0,011). Conclusion: CRSWP surgery can significantly improve the smell sense, especially during the two first years. This effect can be sustainable if good post operative compliance for local corticosteroid are achieved.