Juan Carlos Hernaiz‐Leonardo

Background: In-office endoscopic sinonasal procedures under local anesthesia are gaining popularity for managing chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), reducing wait times and costs. However, concerns remain regarding safety and efficacy. Objective: To investigate the safety and efficacy of in-office endoscopic sinonasal procedures up to one year postoperatively. Methods: A retrospective review was conducted of adult patients (≥18 years) with CRS who underwent an in-office endoscopic sinonasal procedure under local anesthesia between January 2020 and December 2023. Patients were excluded if they were diagnosed with a sinonasal tumour. Safety was assessed using adverse events and complication rates, while efficacy was assessed with endoscopic visualization. Results: A total of 165 patients were included. Intraoperative complications were rare, with two (1.2%) occurring in the CRS cohort. Four episodes of postoperative bleeding (2.5%) occurred, with two (1.3%) emergency department visits and one (0.6%) hospital admission. The median Modified Lund-Kennedy score (n=89) decreased from 4/12 to 3/12 at three (p = 0.0004) and six (p = 0.03) months postoperatively, and to 2/12 at twelve months postoperatively (p = 0.003). Conclusion: In-office endoscopic sinonasal procedures are a safe, effective, and well-tolerated treatment alternative for appropriate patients with CRS. This represents the largest Canadian study to date evaluating in-office endoscopic sinonasal procedures for CRS.

Background: Complications from in-office inferior turbinate (IT) and septal swell body coblation typically include pain, congestion, and bleeding. However, rare cases of cranial nerve palsies from local anesthetic infiltration can occur. We present a rare case of an oculomotor nerve palsy and palsies of the ophthalmic (V1) and maxillary (V2) branches of the trigeminal nerve following intranasal local anesthetic infiltration prior to coblation, a complication not previously documented in the literature. Awareness of such rare and transient complications can help surgeons and clinicians avoid unnecessary interventions and better counsel patients. Case Description: A 75-year-old female with a one-year history of recalcitrant bilateral nasal obstruction underwent an in-office primary bilateral coblation of the ITs and septal swell bodies. Four percent lidocaine-soaked neuropatties were applied over the ITs and septal swell bodies, followed by infiltration with 0.25% bupivacaine hydrochloride with 1:200,000 epinephrine. Shortly after infiltration, the patient developed left-sided ptosis and was unable to adduct the left eye, causing diplopia. Additionally, the patient reported paresthesia in the V1 and V2 dermatomes. All symptoms resolved within 15 minutes. At the 6-week post-procedure visit, there was no sustained diplopia, left eye ptosis, or facial paresthesia. These symptoms also remained absent at the six-month post-procedure visit. Conclusions: Although relatively low-risk, surgeons should be aware of potential cranial nerve complications associated with intranasal anesthetic administration. Recognizing the benign and reversible nature of such presentations may help avoid unnecessary diagnostic workups, reduce patient distress, and reinforce best practices such as aspiration prior to infiltration and slow injection techniques.

Background: Type 2 biologics have been used increasingly for the treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP). However, patterns of biologic switching are understudied, and established guidelines for sequential or simultaneous use do not yet exist.Methods: This is a Canadian multicenter retrospective study of real‐world patient data. Patients were included if they had recurrent CRSwNP despite maximal medical and surgical management, and received at least one dose of a type 2 biologic. Patients who remained on their initial biologic comprised the continuous group. Patients with sequential or simultaneous use of more than one biologic comprised the switched group. We compared the characteristics of patients who continued and switched biologics.Results: Note that 225 consecutive patients were included. Thirty‐six (16%) switched biologics at least once, and six (3%) switched twice. The most common switch was from mepolizumab to dupilumab, with poor control of CRSwNP symptoms being the leading cause for this switch. Lack of efficacy was the main reason for switching off mepolizumab and omalizumab, while adverse events were the leading cause for switching off dupilumab. Additionally, mepolizumab patients were more likely to switch biologics late in their treatment, while dupilumab patients rarely switched after 12 months of therapy (p‐value < 0.001).Conclusions: Switching biologics for CRSwNP is frequent in Canadian rhinology practices, with 16% of patients switching at least once. The most common switch is from mepolizumab to dupilumab with inadequate CRSwNP control driving this switch. This study may help guide sequential or simultaneous use of biologics in CRSwNP patients.

Key Points SinoNasal Microbiota Transfer (SNMT) was safe with immediate benefit in all recipients, with sustained improvement in two of three recipients for up to 180 days. The addition of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy worsened chronic rhinosinusitis. These promising SNMT results warrant further study of safety and efficacy.

Background: Dysregulation of the airway microbiota is thought to contribute to airway inflammation in both chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) and asthma. However, the relationship between the upper and lower airway microbiome remains unclear.Methods: Sinus and lung brushes were collected from 29 CRS participants undergoing sinus surgery. DNA was extracted and submitted for 16s rRNA microbiome sequencing. Alpha and beta diversity metrics, taxonomic composition, and differences between individual taxa were compared for paired sinus and bronchial samples.Results: Twenty‐three out of 29 participants had sufficient samples for analysis. The mean (standard deviation) age was 51.59 (14.57) years, and 10 (44%) patients were female. Twelve (52%) patients had comorbid asthma. Sinus brushes had significantly higher alpha diversity indexes (Shannon and Faith) compared to bronchial brushes (p < 0.001). Beta diversity metrics were significantly different between the sinus and bronchial samples. Principal coordinate analysis showed no clustering of paired nasal and bronchial samples. Sinus brushes had significantly more Lawsonella, Corynebacterium, and Staphylococcus compared to bronchia brushes, while the latter were enriched in Tropheryma and Sphingomonas, among others (false discovery rate [FDR]‐adjusted p < 0.01). Finally, CRS patients with comorbid asthma had significantly higher Pseudomonas and Peptoniphilus in sinus brushes and lower Prevotella in bronchial brushes when compared to non‐asthmatics (FDR‐adjusted p < 0.01).Conclusion: The sinus and bronchial bacterial microbiomes differ in important ways. Our study suggests that migration of bacteria from the sinus into the lower airways is unlikely in patients with CRS.

Objective: To investigate the frequency and nature of adverse events related to type 2 biologic use in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP), including dupilumab and mepolizumab.Methods: This is a single‐institution retrospective study of real‐world patient data. Patients were included if they have a diagnosis of CRSwNP, have undergone at least one endoscopic sinus surgery, and have taken at least two doses of dupilumab or mepolizumab between January 1, 2016, and July 1, 2023. Data collected include clinicodemographic information and past medical/surgical history. The primary outcomes are the incidence and types of adverse events. Adjusted odds ratio was calculated to compare the biologics using logistic regression. Risk factors for developing adverse events were investigated.Results: Eighty‐seven patients on dupilumab and 51 patients on mepolizumab were included. Thirty‐nine (45%) and 10 (20%) patients respectively encountered adverse events, which differed from phase 3 trial data. The adjusted odds ratio for adverse event rates between these two treatment groups was 3.8 (95% CI, 1.5–10.5). The most common adverse events for dupilumab were arthralgia (16%), rash (14%), and conjunctivitis or xerophthalmia (10%). The main adverse events for mepolizumab were headache (6%) and fatigue (6%). Seven dupilumab and three mepolizumab patients discontinued therapy due to adverse events. The average duration of treatment was 22.5 (range: 1–77) months for mepolizumab and 15.9 (range: 1–35) months for dupilumab.Conclusion: Dupilumab and mepolizumab have distinct adverse event profiles. This study contributes to informing clinicians' decisions regarding the use of type 2 biologics in CRSwNP patients.Level of Evidence: 3 Laryngoscope, 134:3054–3059, 2024

Objective: A deviated nasal septum (DNS) can result in an anatomical obstruction and impact lung function through prolonged suboptimal inspiration. Given the improvements in respiration reported by patients following septoplasty or septorhinoplasty (with or without inferior turbinate reduction), our study investigated the effect of these procedures on pulmonary function through a systematic review and meta‐analysis.Data Sources: Medline, Embase, Cochrane Databases, Web of Science, and Google Scholar.Review Methods: The review was registered with PROSPERO [CRD42022316309]. The study population was composed of adult patients (18–65) who were symptomatic with confirmed DNS. Extracted outcomes (pre‐operative versus postoperative) included the six‐minute walk test (6MWT) and pulmonary function tests (FEV1, FVC, FEV1/FVC, FEF25‐75, PEF). Meta‐analyses were performed using a random‐effects model.Results: Three studies included measures of the 6MWT in meters and all three found a statistically significant increase in the distance walked after surgery with a mean difference of 62.40 m (95% CI 24.79–100.00). Statistically significant improvements in PFT outcomes were observed with a standard mean difference of 0.72 for FEV1 (95% CI 0.31–1.13), 0.63 for FVC (95% CI 0.26–1.00), and 0.64 for PEF (95% CI 0.47–0.82). Of the twelve studies which measured PFT outcomes, six showed statistically significant improvements, three studies showed mixed results, and three studies found no difference in PFT outcomes between pre‐and post‐surgery testing.Conclusions: The present study suggests that pulmonary function does improve after nasal surgery for DNS, but the high heterogeneity observed in the meta‐analyses indicates that the evidence supporting this conclusion is low. Laryngoscope, 133:2837–2845, 2023