Extending the use of the Endoscopic Endonasal Sinus and Skull Base Surgery Questionnaire in a cross‐sectional study: Patients with chronic rhinosinusitis versus healthy controls

OBJECTIVES: There are several instruments to assess health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) in chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). Unfortunately, none of them evaluates all three health domains (physical, social and psychological) important to assess the overall well‐being of the patient. The Endoscopic Endonasal Sinus and Skull Base Surgery Questionnaire (EES‐Q) does assess all these elements. Initially, the EES‐Q is validated to evaluate the impact of endoscopic endonasal surgery (EES) on HRQoL. The aim of this study is to assess whether EES‐Q outcomes differ in patients with CRS compared with healthy individuals. Therefore, extending the use of the EES‐Q for all CRS patients. DESIGN: Cross‐sectional study. SETTING: Tertiary referral hospital. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred patients with uncontrolled CRS (50% with nasal polyps) scheduled to receive EES. The questionnaire was completed preoperatively. Healthy control subjects (n = 100) without any history of sinusitis or a known current medical treatment at a hospital were included. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Mann–Whitney U test was performed to identify differences in EES‐Q scores (domain scores and EES‐Q score). RESULTS: The median EES‐Q score in CRS patients (33.8) was significantly higher (p < 0.001) than in the control group (10.4). As well as the physical (52.5 vs. 16.4, p < 0.001), psychological (13.8 vs. 5.0, p < 0.001) and social (37.5 vs. 2.5, p < 0.001) domain scores. CONCLUSIONS: With this study, we are extending the use of the EES‐Q. It indicates that the EES‐Q can be a valuable clinical tool to assess multidimensional HRQoL in all patients with CRS.