Assessment of Quality of Life of Patients before and after Corrective Septal Surgery

Purpose: To study the effectiveness of nasal septal surgeries in improving the Quality of life of patients using The Sino Nasal Outcome Test 22 (SNOT 22) questionnaire as an assessment tool.

Introduction: The most important cause of nasal obstruction is septal deviation. Septoplasty is a commonly performed surgical procedure by otorhinolaryngologists and is generally performed to improve quality of life.

Methods: This was a prospective, longitudnal comparative study done on 60 patients who underwent septal surgeries for the treatment of a symptomatic deviated nasal septum. Assessment of Quality of life of patients was doneusing the SNOT (The Sino Nasal Outcome Test 22) questionnaire which was given to the patients to be filled by them pre-operatively and on the follow up visit 3 months after surgery. A comparative analysis was done between the pre and post-operative scoresof nasal, non-nasal and general symptoms. And results were statistically analyzed.

Results: A statistically significant improvement was noted in all the nasal, non-nasal and general symptoms following corrective septal surgery. The overall mean score for nasal symptoms came down from 4 to 0.5. The score for non-nasal symptoms came down from a pre-operative overall mean value of 2.75 to 1. Also the overall mean value of the general health symptom score reduced from 3 before surgery to 0.8 post-operatively.

Conclusion: A significant improvement was noted in the Quality of life of patients after corrective septal surgeries. The Sino Nasal Outcome Test 22 questionnaire is an effective and reliable tool for evaluating the impact of septal surgeries on nasal symptoms as well as general health and well being of patients.