Nasal polyposis and the role of alphintern

Abstract

Introduction Nasal polyposis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the nasal mucosa. The pathogenesis of nasal polyps is still not entirely known. This makes definitive treatment very challenging. The aim of our study is to evaluate the effect of alphintern on the treatment of nasal polyposis. Patients and methods Patients received alphintern tablet for 2 weeks. Before and after drug intake all patients were asked to fill in a questionnaire in which they rated their overall symptoms on visual analog scale; endoscopic physical findings were scored on the Lindholdt staging system. Results Twenty-three patients were included in the study, 14 men and nine women in the age range from 25 to 56 years. Statistical analysis shows no significant difference ( P 0.05) before and after treatment with alphintern for severity of symptoms and endoscopic staging of nasal polyposis. Discussion The main goals in the treatment of nasal polyposis, whether medical or surgical, are to relief patient symptoms and to prevent complications. There are few direct comparisons of the medical and surgical treatment in the literature. Those that exist suggest that most patients should be treated medically, with surgery reserved for patients who respond poorly. Intranasal corticosteroids are by far the best documented type of medical treatment for nasal polyposis. Researches for other drugs for the treatment of nasal polyposis were done. In this study, the use of alphintern for the treatment of nasal polyposis shows no significant improvement in the severity of symptoms and size of polyps. Conclusion Topical intranasal steroids are the best documented medical treatment. Alphintern shows no significant effect on the management of nasal polyposis. Further studies with more patients and longer duration of treatment are required for more evaluation of drug effect.