Efficacy of nasal irrigation of normal saline as compared to budesonide following functional endoscopic sinus surgery

Background: Nasal irrigation following Functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) appears to be a nearly universal recommendation. FESS significantly improves the symptoms of the CRS (Chronic rhino sinusitis) and the postoperative endoscopy scores. The primarily objective of our study was to study the efficacy of nasal irrigation of normal saline as compared to budesonide following functional endoscopic sinus surgery. Methods: A total of 100 patients who underwent functional endoscopic sinus surgery were randomly divided into two groups on the basis of computerized generated random table with 50 patients in each group. In group 1 normal saline was used where as in group 2 budesonide solution was used for nasal douching. Post-operative evaluation was done using Lund Kennedy Endoscopic scoring (LKES) at the 7th and 30th postoperative day. Results: On 7th postoperative day, we found that none of our patient in the study groups had polypoidal change. There was decrease in scores of polyposis, discharge mucosal edema, scaring and crusting in both the groups. However, the reduction of discharge in the budesonide group was more significantly decreased than normal saline group (p value<0.05). We also noted that on 30th postoperative edema, scarring and crusting was significantly decreased in budesonide group as compared to normal saline group (p value <0.05). Conclusions: We concluded that the addition of budesonide in nasal irrigation resulted in improved scores of polyposis, discharge, mucosal edema, crusting and scarring and total score of LKES than normal saline alone.