Sinonasal inverted papilloma and predictors of health‐related quality of life after endonasal endoscopic surgery: A prospective cohort study

Objectives Existing knowledge on health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) after surgical removal of sinonasal inverted papilloma (IP) is limited. Moreover, predictors for a better or worse post‐operative HRQoL outcome are not known. Our aim was to assess HRQoL in all three health domains (physical, psychological, and social), track its post‐operative trajectory, investigate if pre‐operative observations could predict distinct post‐operative HRQoL outcomes, and evaluate whether physicians' interventions could contribute to improved post‐operative HRQoL. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting Tertiary referral hospital. Participants Seventy‐four patients who underwent surgery for an IP were included. They were asked to fill in the Endonasal Endoscopic Sinus and Skull‐Base Surgery Questionnaire (EES‐Q) pre‐operatively, and then 2 weeks, 3 months, and 1 year post‐operatively. Main Outcome Measures Linear mixed models analyses were performed to evaluate the overall post‐operative HRQoL and the separate health domains, as well as the impact of specific variables (sex, age, American Society of Anaesthesiologists [ASA] classification, smoker, Krouse staging, pre‐operative EES‐Q score, type of surgery, and post‐operative antibiotics) on HRQoL improvement. Results The total EES‐Q score ( p < .001) as well as the physical ( p < .001), psychological ( p = .049), and the social ( p = .002) domains significantly improved post‐operatively. ASA classification ( p = .049), pre‐operative EES‐Q score ( p < .001) and post‐operative antibiotics ( p = .036) were significant variables. Conclusions Overall HRQoL, as well as each of the three health domains, improved significantly. A higher ASA score, a higher pre‐operative EES‐Q score, and the administration of post‐operative antibiotics were significant predictors for better HRQoL recovery post‐operatively. Further research is necessary to confirm these results.