Balloon sinuplasty for the surgical management of immunocompromised and critically ill patients with acute rhinosinusitis

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to review use of balloon sinuplasty for surgical treatment in critically ill patients with acute sinusitis. STUDY DESIGN: Case series with chart review. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Patients who underwent balloon sinuplasty between October 2007 and March 2008 were identified. Medical records of the subset of patients who were immunocomprormsed or otherwise critically ill were analyzed. RESULTS: Thirty-one patients underwent balloon sinuplasty at our institution between October 2007 and March 2008. We identified five critically ill patients with sinus disease within this group. Patient ages ranged from 15 to 5 1 years with no sex preponderance. All patients had focal findings on a sinus CT scan. In all cases, purulent drainage was noted intraoperatively. All patients returned to baseline health meeting discharge criteria after treatment. CONCLUSION: Balloon sinuplasty represents a potentially less invasive surgical option than standard Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery (FESS) and should be considered in the treatment of critically ill or immunocompromised patients.