Biologics versus functional endoscopic sinus surgery for the treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps: a literature review

Abstract

Objective: To review the literature comparing functional endoscopic sinus surgery to dupilumab for the treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, in terms of symptom control, cost-effectiveness and complications.

Method: A literature review was conducted using PubMed, ScienceDirect and Cochrane databases. Data were extracted manually.

Results: A total of six papers relevant to the main objective were found.

Conclusion: Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps has a significant impact on patients' quality of life. Both functional endoscopic sinus surgery and dupilumab achieve comparable disease control and result in good symptom relief. Dupilumab is far more expensive than functional endoscopic sinus surgery and is not considered cost-effective for the time being. This is expected to change after 10 years when the drug patent expires. More research is needed to compare the complications of both treatment modalities.

Keywords: Nasal polyps; endoscopic surgical procedure; immunology; quality of life.