Objective: To determine the efficacy of balloon sinus dilation (BSD) compared to functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) or medical management for chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS).
Methods: A qualified medical librarian conducted a literature search for relevant publications that evaluate efficacy of BSD. Studies were assessed independently by 2 reviewers for inclusion in the systematic review and meta-analysis.
Results: From 315 abstracts reviewed, 18 studies were included in qualitative review, and 7 were included in meta-analysis. Quantitative analysis included 4 randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and 3 cohort studies comparing baseline and post-operative Sinonasal Outcome Test (SNOT)-20 scores in BSD and FESS. A meta-analysis restricted to the studies reporting SD for changes from baseline (2 RCTs, 1 cohort) showed the pooled difference in means to be 0.435, less than a clinically meaningful difference of 0.8. A separate sensitivity analysis of the studies including 4 additional studies with imputed values of SD for changes from baseline showed the pooled difference of means to be 0.237 assuming the highest level of correlation (Corr .8) between the pre- and post-intervention scores.
Conclusions: There is limited high-quality evidence that assesses the efficacy of BSD versus FESS in the management of CRS patients. To better inform CRS management, future studies should compare BSD with endoscopic sinus surgery, hybrid procedures, and/or medical management alone using validated objective and patient-reported outcome measures.
Keywords: balloon sinuplasty; chronic rhinosinusitis; endoscopic sinus surgery; sinus ostial dilation.