Changes in symptoms of Eustachian tube dysfunction after nasal surgery

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the effects of nasal surgery including endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) and/or septoplasty on Eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD) symptoms using the Eustachian Tube Dysfunction Questionnaire 7 (ETDQ-7).

Methods: Patients who underwent ESS and/or septoplasty between April 2020 and October 2021 were retrospective reviewed. The patients were divided into 3 groups according to the type of surgery: group A, septoplasty alone (76 patients); group B, ESS alone (209 patients); and group C, septoplasty + ESS (74 patients). Responses to the ETDQ-7, SNOT-22, and NOSE questionnaires were collected preoperatively and at 3 months after surgery and compared between groups.

Results: A total of 359 patients were included in the study. The prevalence of ETD was 28.9% (22 patients) in group A, 27.3% (57 patients) in group B, and 31.1% (23 patients) in group C. The ETDQ-7 score decreased significantly after surgery: total patient population, 12.47 ± 7.0 to 8.2 ± 2.48 (p < 0.001); group A, 12.76 ± 6.62 to 8.47 ± 2.66 (p < 0.001); group B, 12.05 ± 6.89 to 8.35 ± 2.73 (p < 0.001); and group C, 13.24 ± 7.72 to 7.55 ± 1.25 (p < 0.001). Both SNOT-22 and NOSE scores also decreased significantly after surgery in the total patient population and in all three groups. There was a strong correlation between ETDQ-7 and SNOT-22 scores (r = 0.56, p < 0.001) and a moderate correlation between ETDQ-7 and NOSE scores (r = 0.33, p < 0.001).

Conclusion: Patients with CRS and/or NSD suffered from ETD, and showed significant improvement after surgery. In addition, ETD symptoms were shown to be affected by nasal obstruction as well as CRS symptoms.

Keywords: Chronic rhinosinusitis; Endoscopic sinus surgery; Eustachian tube dysfunction; Septal deviation; Septoplasty.