Trends in the management of pediatric chronic sinusitis: survey of the American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology.
BACKGROUND
The management of chronic sinusitis (CS) in children has yet to be fully elucidated. The objective of this study is to assess practice trends within the pediatric otolaryngology community for the management of children with CS.


METHODS
A multiple choice survey of the members of the American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology (ASPO) was performed to assess for various factors related to the management of CS in children.


RESULTS
A total of 175 ASPO members responded to the survey. The majority of respondents initially treat patients medically with oral antibiotics (95%), topical steroids (90%), and nasal saline sprays (68%). Fifty-five percent performed adenoidectomy as part of the treatment of CS, with 81% performing the operation before endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS). Compared with 3 years before the survey, 47% of respondents performed approximately the same number of ESS cases, whereas 35% reported doing fewer cases annually. Seventy-two percent of practitioners do not routinely perform a second-look surgery.


CONCLUSIONS
The majority of pediatric otolaryngologists use oral antibiotics, nasal steroids, and saline lavage, and will perform adenoidectomy when managing patients with CS. More than a third of pediatric otolaryngologists are using more stringent criteria for surgery and performing less extensive surgery than 3 years before the survey. Surgical outcomes for CS do not appear to have changed over the past 3 years.
Sobol
Steven E
SE
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Samadi
Daniel S
DS
Kazahaya
Ken
K
Tom
Lawrence W C
LW
D000233:Adenoidectomy; D002648:Child; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003625:Data Collection; D006801:Humans; D010036:Otolaryngology; D012852:Sinusitis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000628:therapy*