Nasal symptoms after transsphenoidal surgery for pituitary lesions / 中华神经医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To analyze the clinical outcome of nasal symptoms in patients with pituitary lesions after transsphenoidal surgery by microscope.Methods:A perspective study was performed; 53 patients with pituitary lesions treated by transsphenoidal microsurgery in our hospital from March 2012 to January 2013 were enrolled. Sinonasal outcome test (SNOT)-22 was used to evaluate the nasal symptoms in these patients before surgery, and 1 week, 1 month and 4 months after surgery; Toyota and Takagi (T&T) olfactometer was used to evaluate the olfaction before surgery, and 1 week and 4 months after surgery.Results:Among the 53 patients, 47 were with pituitary adenoma and 6 were with Rathke cysts. The common postoperative nasal symptoms included olfactory disorder, nasal obstruction, runny nose, pain in the nasal cavity and dizziness. The total scores and 5-items scores of SNOT-22 in patients 1 week and 1 month after surgery were significantly higher as compared with those before surgery ( P<0.05); there were no significant differences in these scores between before surgery and 4 months after surgery ( P>0.05). The incidence of olfactory disorder in patients 1 week and 4 months after surgery was significantly higher than that before surgery ( P<0.05); the incidence of olfactory disorder in patients 4 months after surgery was decreased as compared with that 1 week after surgery, without significant difference ( P>0.05). Conclusion:Olfactory disorder can occur to some extent after transsphenoidal approach with slow recovery, which deserves the attentions.