Efficacy and safety of steroid‐impregnated implants following sinus surgery: A meta‐analysis

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this meta-analysis was to discuss the efficacy and safety of bioabsorbable steroid-impregnated implants following endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) for chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) patients. METHODS: PubMed, Cochrane, EMBASE, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were comprehensively searched for studies comparing the experimental group (bioabsorbable steroid-impregnated implants) with the control group (bioabsorbable nonsteroid-impregnated implants). Lund-Kennedy scores, Perioperative Sinus Endoscopy (POSE) scores, polyp change, significant adhesion, middle turbinate lateralization, and adverse events were extracted from the final eligible studies. RevMan 5.3 software was used to analyze the data. RESULTS: Eight randomized controlled trials were included in our analysis. The experimental group showed no significant differences from the control group in Lund-Kennedy scores (weighted mean difference (WMD) -0.40; 95% confidence interval [confidence interval (CI)] -1.05 to -0.62; P = 0.23). The experimental group had lower POSE scores compared with the control group, and there was a significant difference (WMD -1.88; 95% CI -2.32 to -1.43, P < 0.00001). The pooled results also demonstrated significant differences in polyp change, significant adhesion, and middle turbinate lateralization between the two groups. In addition, there was no significant difference with respect to adverse events between the two groups (odds ratio (OR) 0.38; 95% CI: 0.07 to 2.03; P = 0.26). CONCLUSION: Bioabsorbable steroid-impregnated implants following ESS are effective in improving the endoscopic appearance of the healing process, and the safety profile appears to be favorable for the treatment of CRS patients. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 1A Laryngoscope, 2019.