Smoke Exposure and Outcome of Endoscopic Sinus Surgery in Children

OBJECTIVEThe study goal was to determine whether cigarette smoke exposure in children who are undergoing endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) for chronic sinusitis will have an impact on the outcome.DESIGNWe conducted a cohort study in a tertiary care children's hospital setting.PATIENTS AND METHODSThe study population consisted of 118 patients who underwent ESS between January 1994 and June 1999. The mean age was 6.5 (range, 2 to 13 years). The outcome of ESS was measured ≥1 year after the operation. A questionnaire was mailed to the caretakers to measure success. Those who required revision subsequently were considered as failures.RESULTSMultivariate logistic regression analysis was performed with smoke exposure as an independent variable and outcome measured as success of procedure. The overall success rate was 83%. Univariate analysis of smoke exposure and outcome of surgery revealed that children exposed to smoke in household had a 70% success rate compared with children not exposed to smoke, who had a 90% success rate (P = 0.007). Multivariate analysis revealed smoke exposure continued to be an independent predictor of success.CONCLUSIONESS in children with cigarette smoke exposure predisposes to a poorer outcome. This needs to be taken into consideration when recommending ESS for those children.