How Does Age Impact Presentation and Outcomes in Chronic Rhinosinusitis?

Objectives/Hypothesis: The presence of eosinophilia and nasal polyps are well-established prognostic indicators of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). The importance of demographic background, such as age, as independent variables has not been elucidated while taking these factors into account. Study Design: Respective review. Methods: CRS patients who underwent primary surgical treatment were subdivided based on age (young adults = age 18-39, adults = age 40-64, and elderly = age 65+). Groups were then subdivided based on tissue eosinophilia and nasal polyposis. Sinonasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22), Lund-Kennedy (LK) endoscopy scores, and Lund-McKay (LM) CT scores were compared preoperatively, and postoperatively during a 5-year period. Results: A total of 431 CRS patients identified and then subsequently broken down into 63 young adults (YA), 209 adults (A), and 159 elderly (E). There was no statistical difference between tissue eosinophilia and presence of polyps between the groups. All three groups had similar short- and long-term SNOT-22 patterns postoperatively. At presentation, young adults had significantly higher SNOT-22 score (33.2 YA, 25.3 A, 23.5 E, P =.029) and significantly higher rhinologic scores (1.9 YA, 1.3 A, 1.3 E, P =.0012) than the adult and elderly patients. Objective disease severity using LK endoscopy scores were only significantly higher in young adults at 1-year time (P =.0026). There was no statistical difference between the groups in regards to preoperative LM CT scores. Conclusions: Young adults are more likely to present with overall higher subjective SNOT-22 scores over adults and elderly patients, despite similar objective findings in the groups. Short- and long-term postoperative improvement holds across all age groups. Level of Evidence: 4.